Tulsa teachers still looking for a pay raise

Tulsa Public School teachers headed back to work Tuesday without their annual pay raise. <br><br>Jenks and Broken Arrow educators are receiving theirs. But contract talks between Tulsa and its teachers

Tuesday, September 3rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa Public School teachers headed back to work Tuesday without their annual pay raise.

Jenks and Broken Arrow educators are receiving theirs. But contract talks between Tulsa and its teachers are at a standstill.

TPS spokesman John Hamill says that's partly because other districts don't have the same restrictions on class size that Tulsa does, so they don't have to pay as many teachers. But a Tulsa Teacher's Association says there are significantly fewer teachers in the district than last year.

Steve Stockley with the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, "There are many fewer teachers in Tulsa than last year. And by merely keeping the teacher's on their career steps, it would $3.4-million less than the commitment last year."

And, negotiators for the teachers say the district needs to find other places to make cuts. For example, they claim the district spent hundreds of thousands of dollars more than projected to pay for middle-school athletics.