Education Budget Presented To House, Senate Wednesday

After a heated hearing in front of the senate was cut short last week, State Superintendent Ryan Walters was back at the capitol today to present his amended education budget. He's requesting an allocation of over $3.5 billion, $330 million less than last year's allocations.

He says his vision is to empower all Oklahomans with the best education system for the future.

“Today was a great day because we got to see how we're gonna move the ball forward in education," said Walters.

Two large parts of Walters plan was discussed extensively during today's joint house and senate hearing. One of those, what Walters calls his number-one goal, is a $100 million reading comprehension plan, what he calls the "Every Kid Reads Recovery Act."

He says this will be the most expansive reading plan in the country with the goal of having every Oklahoma student reading proficient into fourth grade. 

Walters also talked extensively about where he got ideas for his plan, including states like Mississippi and Tennessee.

“What we looked at is not states that have been there for an amount of tim,e we looked at what states made the biggest leaps," said Walters.

But some opponents of his plan say this isn't the first time they've heard this plan.

“It's the same plan we heard 12 years ago, the only difference is it now costs $100 million,"Representative Andy Fugate (D) said.

Fugate peppered Walters with logistical questions at the hearing and specified that Walter's plan for a teacher pay raise is actually a teacher pay stipend.

Fugate explains that under Oklahoma law, once a teacher makes a certain amount, they are not legally allowed to make less than that. 

Walters requested $150 million towards teacher incentive pay, based on professional learning hours complete and a teacher learning effectiveness rating.

“This is an evaluative tool that allows teachers to show their effectiveness no matter if they're a high school math teacher or if they are a 3rd grade art teacher," said Walters. 

He explained the stipend would range from $2,500 to $10,000:

1. Highly Effective + 15 hours toward PL Focus: $2,500
2. Highly Effective + 25 hours toward PL Focus: $5,000
3. Superior + 15 hours toward PL Focus: $7,500
4. Superior + 25 hours toward PL Focus: $10,000

“It puts a perverse financial incentive on our best teachers, our savviest teachers to go find places where it's easiest to teach, and so I'm very disappointed in that piece," Fugate said

Walters says he is confident with his budget moving forward after today's hearing. 

Here's a breakdown of the main changes in this year's budget:

1. $66,286,463 operational costs
2. $150,000,000 teacher incentive pay
3. $4,061,819 secondary ELA and world languages
4. $8,953,374 support of public school activities
5. $100,000,000 Every Kid Reads Recovery Act

Related: State Board Of Education Approves Supt Walters Budget