Never enough: Hofmeister calls for $5K teacher pay raise

In a transparently political pander while running for Governor, now-Democrat State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister wants to hike teacher pay again by another $5,000, three years after significant pay increases were passed by the legislature.  It's never going to be enough, despite the terrible results produced by Oklahoma's failing public education system. Her press release is below: Hofmeister includes teacher pay raise in state education budget request OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 19, 2022) – A $5,000 teacher pay raise is included in the annual budget request the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) will present to the state board of education at its next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22. “We’ve significantly raised teacher pay in recent years, but so did our neighboring states with whom we are competing. This investment is vital to our ability to build a sustainable teacher workforce, necessary for providing the high-quality education Oklahoma students need and deserve,” said Joy Hofmeister, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “In the midst of an unprecedented and worsening teacher shortage, it is imperative we look for long-term solutions to show that Oklahoma values and respects its teachers.” There are currently 52,850 certified teachers in Oklahoma. It will require approximately $310 million to fully fund the teacher pay raise. Oklahoma teachers last received an official pay raise in 2018 ($6,100), and an additional salary increase averaging $1,220 passed in 2019. Oklahoma currently ranks fourth in the region for teacher pay with an average annual salary of $54,096, trailing New Mexico ($54,256), Texas ($57,090) and Colorado ($57,706). New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has recently signed legislation that will boost teacher salaries by an additional $10,000.  by Jamison Faught - September 20, 2022 at 08:15AM

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