OKC school board OKs teacher pay increases

Oklahoma City Public Schools has approved labor agreements with hundreds of teachers and other employees that include state-funded pay raises.

The school board ratified the agreements for approximately 4,410 employees Monday night.

While step increases determined by education and years of experience are expected to appear on paychecks Wednesday, the legislative raises will not, Superintendent Sean McDaniel told eligible employees Tuesday.

“We are working to finalize the implementation plan for these pay increases no later than Sept. 15, 2018,” McDaniel said in letters to school administrators, certified staff (which includes teachers), support staff, and professional technical staff.

Oklahoma City teachers are among those who get paid Aug. 15 and Aug. 31. “Please note that all legislative actions are permanent and will be retroactive to the first paycheck of the FY 2019 employment contract for each employee,” McDaniel stated in the letters.

In addition to the step increase, most of the district’s 2,500 teachers received $292 each in “enrichment money,” said Ed Allen, president of Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers, the union that bargains with the district.

“On most steps we added enrichment money that totals about half a million,” he said.

Additional steps have been added to the latest salary schedule, up to and including 25 years or more of service. Teachers should receive negotiated 2017-18 and 2018-19 step increases on Wednesday’s paychecks, Allen said.

The amount of the statefunded pay raise also will differ depending on years of service and other factors.

First-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree would be paid $39,001, according to a 2018-19 draft salary schedule obtained by The Oklahoman, an increase of $5,000 compared to the previous year.

Teachers with 10 years of experience and a master’s degree would receive $45,980, an increase of $6,280. A teacher with 20 years of experience and a doctorate would receive $61,816, an increase of $7,191.

In other action, the board approved the hire of Jessica Sherrill as general counsel.

She will succeed Brandon Carey, who resigned in October to accept a job with the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. Sherrill comes to the district from the school boards association, where she has served as director of unemployment and staff attorney since 2008.

She begins her new role with the district Sept. 4.