State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister made the following remarks on the Oklahoma State Senate’s passage of legislation paving the way for a teacher pay raise, the first in more than 10 years.
“Thanks to members of the state Senate, our teachers are much closer to a desperately needed and long-overdue pay raise, one that will finally make us regionally competitive and help turn around a crippling teacher shortage. I am grateful for the strong bipartisan support on behalf of Oklahoma’s schoolkids.
“This pay raise propels Oklahoma to second in the region for average teacher pay. Nationally, we will move from the basement to better than 19 other states. While this legislation is far from all that needs to be done to reverse years of education funding cuts, it is a tremendous step forward. There is no one more important than the teacher in classroom instruction, and House Bill 1010-XX will be critical in retaining and recruiting teachers. This vote is a bright light for public education in Oklahoma.”