A teacher shortage in Oklahoma could grow even larger following the election, in which Oklahomans shot down a one-cent sales tax hike that would have increased teachers’ annual salaries by $5,000.
According to KOSU.org, teacher pay in Oklahoma is among the lowest in the nation, which prior to the election had prompted hundreds of teachers to leave the profession in search of better pay. The shortage has resulted in overcrowded classrooms and forced the state’s department of education to issue over 1,500 emergency teaching certifications in the past few years.
In response to a straw poll conducted by a teacher’s union in Tulsa that asked Oklahoma teachers how they felt following the election, at least 18 teachers said they would be leaving.
Senator David Holt, KOSU.org reports, has called teacher pay raises the highest priority of the legislature, which is facing a budget deficit.
According to a Nov. 15 press release from Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services, general revenue fund collections in October totaled $390.9 million, about $47.3 million below the estimate the fiscal year 2017 budget was based on.
“While we’re not in as bad of shape as we were at this time last year, there are still some troubling trends, such as oil prices remaining low and sales tax collections continuing to be down,” Preston L. Doerflinger, Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology, said in the release. “While it’s not time to jump to conclusions, we do want to be ready to tackle the challenges ahead.”
Holt’s plan, according to KOSU.org, is to fund teacher pay raises from expanded sales taxes on currently exempt items and through school district consolidation.
According to State Impact, the state’s budget hole could be closer to $600 million.