Fallin would veto another budget lacking teacher raise
Gov. Mary Fallin said she would veto another proposed budget that doesn’t include a pay raise for teachers, something she called a top priority headed into her final year in office.
Following an address to dozens of school superintendents on Wednesday, in which she talked about the need for a teacher pay raise, Fallin was asked by a reporter if she would veto a budget that did not include a salary increase for educators.
“In the second special session? Yeah, I would,” Fallin said.
The state Legislature is currently in its second special session since it adjourned the 2017 regular session and later learned some of its budget fixes were unconstitutional.
Fallin vetoed part of a budget proposal last year during the first special session, saying it failed to address many of the objectives she sought, including a rise in teacher pay.
Michael McNutt, a spokesman for the governor, said Fallin expects to see a teacher pay raise in a budget agreement, which could include dedicated funding beginning in Fiscal Year 2019.
At Wednesday’s event hosted by the Oklahoma Public Schools Resources Center, Fallin acknowledged the state budget situation has been especially tough for public schools.
Earlier this week, funding statistics compiled in a report
by the National Center for Education Statistics showed Oklahoma remained 48th in the nation in per-student education spending.
Oklahoma’s average teacher pay remains near the bottom nationally and is often significantly less than what is offered in neighboring states.
Fallin spent part of her Wednesday address pointing to state gains in reading proficiency and an increase in career certificates.
But she said the struggles of public schools have cast a negative image on the state.
“We have to stop kicking the can down the road. We also have to think about what kind of state we want to be,” Fallin told the superintendents in attendance.
“In my heart, I’m concerned about our brand and the image of our state. It’s hard for me to sell the state of Oklahoma when we have constant articles about budget shortfalls, schools on four day weeks and ... emergency certified teachers.”
Fallin didn’t take questions from superintendents, but some expressed skepticism.
“She showed no recognition that her own policies — the tax cuts and budgets she signed — over the last seven years are why our brand is suffering,” Mid-Del Superintendent Rick Cobb tweeted after Fallin’s remarks.
At least 60 percent of likely voters in Oklahoma believe the approach towards education funding by Fallin and the state Legislature has been poor, according to a December poll conducted by Harstad Strategic Research Inc. and commissioned by the Oklahoma Education Association.
“Voters understand this Legislature has failed miserably in its duty to provide the necessary investments in education to make Oklahoma the state it should be,” OEA president Alicia Priest said on Wednesday when the survey results were released.
State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said she supported anything the governor could do to advance a teacher pay raise. But she added it needs to be a significant increase that lasts.
“Is it sustainable? Is it more than a one-time stipend? And is it something that actually makes our state competitive when it comes to teacher pay?” Hofmeister said. “We are well past the time for a Band-Aid. It is time to send a very strong message, not only in this state, but across the nation, that Oklahoma cares about education and kids.”
Sen. Jason Smalley, R-Stroud, said most lawmakers support a teacher pay raise.
“The question is to what level?” Smalley asked.
Smalley said he didn’t want to see just a $1,000 raise, believing that whatever is approved will be considered a fix for the next several years.
“I think the state Senate can get a bill passed,” said Smalley, referring to the 75 percent voting threshold necessary for revenue-raising bills in the Legislature. “I think the House is just going to have a tough time getting 76 votes. I think the election year will pose a lot of problems for (lawmaker) votes this year.”