Educate Oklahoma: Budgets Crisis

It is a tumultuous time for Oklahoma schools and News 9 is kicking off a statewide initiative called: Educate Oklahoma. Over months ahead, we will examine what is working here and in other states, as well as what is not.

And, we will see what lessons can be learned from a European country with a world acclaimed education system.

A recent News 9 Poll shows our public schools have plenty of room for improvement.

We asked Oklahomans what grade they would d give Oklahoma schools. More people handed out F's than A's, but overall, Oklahomans give our schools a C+ grade.

Nearly 87 percent of people we surveyed believe funding is key to raising the grade. However, Oklahoma schools took a beating this year with massive cuts in state funding.

Nichols Hills Kindergarten Teacher Tori Shoecraft puts a smile on her face every morning, trying to make the best of a bad situation.  Specifically, the lack of money for schools…and for teachers.

“It is frustrating,” says Shoecraft. “Especially when, as teachers and our principal, we are cutting back everywhere.”

The state's $1.3 billion budget deficit led to $74.4 million in cuts to public education. Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora says those cuts have been brutal.

“We had to cut $30 million which resulted in us laying off 208 teachers, 100 central office administrators, 100 operations workers,” said Lora. “Plus we had to slash budgets for supplies, cancel textbook orders, and defer maintenance on our buildings."

A one-time boost in state aid allowed the district to rehire all but 83 teachers.

“We invited a lot of people back, but unfortunately there are people who chose to leave the profession or went to other states for higher wages," said Lora.

Federal, state and county per-pupil spending is consistently rising, but not by much.  In November, taxpayers will consider a one percent increase in sales tax to pay for, among other things, a $5,000 pay increase for teachers.  The tax would raise $615 million, but only $378 million would be used for teacher pay increases.  The rest would be used for other education programs.

Dave Bond of conservative political think-tank OCPA Impact would rather see lawmakers cut unnecessary spending.

"They are willing if lawmakers at the state capitol can't figure out something else, they are willing to take one for the team, so to speak, and raise their own taxes, sales taxes to the highest in America," said Bond.

Bond suggests cutting $200 million in subsidies for out-of-state and foreign wind companies and consider using $40 million per year in funding from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. OCPA also recommends eliminating state sponsorship of NBA games and non-critical travel, saving $39.8 million , and using savings from Employee Health Insurance reform for raises.

"The floor on that is estimated at $100 million a year.  That's set to kick in as we understand it October first of this year. And those savings have not been predesignated in the budget state lawmakers just passed," said Bond. 

OCPA Impact says the state needs to focus on long term solutions, especially with another massive budget deficit and deeper cuts looming.

A News 9 poll shows more than two-thirds of Oklahoma voters support the idea of a one-cent sales tax for education. Meanwhile, nearly 34 percent say the state needs to find other ways to address the teacher shortage and low teacher pay.

This year, with pay raises for teachers in South Dakota, Oklahoma will fall to second to last in the nation in average teacher pay.  It is an issue that has led to a severe teacher shortage in the state.

Jane Via is currently a teacher in Edmond.  Her daughter-in-law is a first year teacher in Plano, Texas.

“She just started teaching this year in Plano and she's actually making more than I am,” said Via. In fact, her daughter-in-law is bringing home about $11 thousand more than Via.

“It is unfortunate because we're better in Oklahoma than that,” said Alecia Priest, a former teacher and current president of the Oklahoma Education Association.

Priest said the last time legislators gave teachers in Oklahoma a pay increase was the 2008-2009 school year.

 “2008 to 2009, our beginning salary for an entry teacher was $31,600 and 2016 the beginning salary for at teacher is going to be $31,600,” said Priest.

Lawmakers blamed low oil prices and OPEC for the painful budget cuts in education spending.  However, Priest pointed to oil producing state North Dakota. Legislators there socked away more than $614 million for schools when times were good.

During the eight years since Oklahoma teachers received a raise, oil production in the state doubled and prices exceeded $100 per barrel, before tumbling this year.

“We haven't made education a priority in funding. We just haven't. We've given corporate tax breaks we've given oil and gas breaks we had an opportunity to look at those things and make changes. It didn't happen,” said Priest.

Many teachers say they cannot afford to continue their careers in the classroom.

“Teacher pay in Oklahoma is not very good. I was working three jobs at some time throughout the year,” said Amy Tietsort, a teacher at Tulsa’s Union Public Schools.

Tietsort said when one of those part time jobs offered her a full time position, she made the difficult decision to leave a teaching career she loved.

“I was in the third grade when I decided that was my calling. I had an amazing third grade teacher and from there on out that's what my passion was,” said Tietsort.

Amy is like the legions of other teachers who are leaving the profession or the state in search of higher paying jobs. Last year, the state issued 1,000 emergency teacher certifications, allowing college graduates to teach without a teacher certification.

A report out this month contends "real" teacher pay in Oklahoma is higher than people think. The limited government group, "1889 Institute," claims when pay is adjusted for cost-of-living, Oklahoma jumps from 48th in the nation to 30th. Oklahoma has the 49th lowest cost of living. Another analysis shows a new teacher starting in Dallas will make less than starting in Oklahoma because of the cost-of-living difference.  

The Oklahoma Education Coalition says 17 percent of new teachers in Oklahoma will leave the state or the profession in their first year.

Pittsburg County's Jason McMullen stayed in the profession. He spent more than a year teaching in Oklahoma towns like Carnegie and Stigler. He even came back to Oklahoma after a stint in Dallas, but he says he just couldn't make it here and today, he calls Arkansas home.

“The situation in Oklahoma doesn't seem like it's ever gonna get better and for me,” said McMullen. “It comes down to my family, I've got to provide for my family, what I've got to do.”

Jason says just 20 miles from the Oklahoma line, he found the place he has always been looking for but could never quite find in the Sooner State.

“You start looking at the growth, you start looking at the teacher's salaries, you start looking at the benefits, you start looking at the way the community supports them and you start going, wow, this is the kind of environment you dream of as a teacher,” said McMullen.

Jason makes $16,000 more than his last job in Sulphur. However, he said it goes beyond a paycheck to the way he is treated as a professional.

“If there's a challenge that comes up, I know that somebody has my back, that somebody is going to help me do the best that I can because we're all in it for the same reason and that is student success,” said McMullen.

Former Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Stephen Smallwood can relate.  After 27 years of guiding Oklahoma students in Perry, Lawton and Broken Bow, in debate, speech and theatre, English, geography and journalism, Stephen began looking at retirement.

After all those years, his salary maxed out at a paltry $26,000.

He pointed his truck south. When Smallwood crossed the Red River, he got a raise.

For ten more years, Stephen drove to North Lamar High School in Paris, Texas, so that he might have some financial peace of mind.

And less than a year after he retired in Texas, we followed him back. Smallwood said it broke his heart to cross the Red River. But, after just a decade in Texas, he left behind a legacy, played out in hugs.

“When I drove across to make a living, I left dreams and visions, my dreams and visions were left in Oklahoma,” said Smallwood.

Stephen is Class of '66 at Rattan High School. His dad was principal. Five brothers and sisters came after and all became teachers.