State Senator Unveils Plan To Give Oklahoma Teachers Big Pay Raise

An Oklahoma state senator says he has a plan to raise Oklahoma teacher salaries by $10,000 per teacher.  

David Holt, whose district includes the Oklahoma City area, says his six proposed bills wouldn't involve a tax increase, but would mean dramatically reducing the number of school districts across the state.

David Holt news release

Holt says Oklahoma teachers have not had a pay raise since 2008 and believes there is a “moral obligation” to address the issue during this year's legislative session which begins in February.

“I believe I am proposing a practical and realistic solution, and to achieve that on this issue, I think a plan must have at least three characteristics – no tax increase, multi-year implementation, and a multifaceted approach. By multifaceted approach, I mean that there is no silver bullet. You can’t accomplish this with one idea or one bill,” Holt said. “I believe a teacher pay raise must rest on a three-legged stool of tax reform, efficiencies in school administration, and a statutory commitment of future revenue growth. The precise details of my proposals may or may not be the perfect approach, but I believe strongly in these principles and this framework,” said David Holt.

A recent study shows national teacher and administrator salaries have gone up by about $3,000 in that time.

His proposal would cut the number of Oklahoma school districts from more than 500 to 200. 

Holt says the end result would be a $10,000 raise for every teacher with an estimated cost of about $400 million.