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Oklahoma lawmaker proposes bill to give teachers raises

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An Oklahoma senator is making yet another attempt to get more money for teachers in the Sooner State. As the Palm Beach Post reports,Senator David Holt has proposed a bill that would give all Oklahoma teachers a $10,000 raise.

Last year, Holt proposed a similar bill that died in the legislature.

Then, last November, Oklahoma voters rejected a one-cent sales tax increase that would have given their teachers raises.

In response to what they view as poor treatment by the state, a caucus of teachers in Oklahoma ran for public office last year. But many of those teachers were defeated, due to an influx of money from outside the state,including hundreds of thousands of dollarsfrom Donald Trump’s Education nominee Besty DeVos.

In the latest chapter of the saga, Oklahoma drew criticism this month when it was revealedthat convenience-store workers in Oklahoma earn more than teachers. It remains to be seen whether Holt’s latest effort has the backing to succeed.