March 11th 2017 Newsletter
Guess Which State has the
Lowest Starting Teacher Pay?
Texas, Oklahoma, or Arkansas?
If you listen to the thugs holding press conferences threatening to strike Oklahoma has the lowest starting pay in the region. But the old saying is so true; figures don't lie but liars can figure. In fact Oklahoma has the highest starting minimum salary between the three states:
Texas starts teachers off at $28,080 per year.
Arkansas starts teachers off at $31,000 per year
Oklahoma starts teachers off at $31,600.00 per year.
That of course is the minimum, many teachers make more. The state however merely sets the minimum salary to prevent local school boards from taking advantage of teachers, the school boards and districts negotiate with the individual teacher to determine their pay and there is no limit on what a teacher can be paid as long as the school can raise the money in taxes.
So if the local school board and superintendent is in charge of pay rates for teachers, why are the teachers attempting to extort money from the legislature?
Simply, because they know that raising local tax rates to pay for their own pay isn't going to be popular or even possible in many low income districts.
But...but....but.... the public supports higher teacher pay, right? No, the 2016 Boren Tax increase went down in flames, 59.4% voting against the 22% hike in state sales tax.
But....but...but.. Oklahoma is the lowest in teacher pay in the region and the second from the lowest in the nation. No, not once you factor in the cost of living not to mention how the retirement pay in handled in those states. If you are living in Texas the average price of a home is $146,100 but not in the metro areas like Dallas/Ft Worth., Arkansas average home price is $113,800, Oklahoma average price is $112.200, third from the bottom. Oklahoma is third from the top of the cheapest places to live in the U. S., behind Arkansas and Mississippi.
Dallas is 9% more expensive, 28% more expensive utilities. You are going to need to make $4500 more per year to live in Dallas instead of OKC. Little Rock is 2% more expensive, you will need and additional $917 per year to live in Little Rock. Your utilities will cost 15% more.
Texas also has the largest commute times in the 90 largest cities in the U.S., with Dallas being the worst at# 90 , Austin at 82 , and Houston at 88th.
Looking at the salary of all workers where does Oklahoma land?
Oh, Oklahomans make $2100 less per worker but it goes further than the higher salary in Texas because of the cost of living. Hmm, that is inconvienient for the striking teachers...
How about accountants? They can drive across a state line and earn more too, right?
Oh, accountants can make $65,000 in Texas and only $53,000 in Oklahoma?
How about a nurse, they can drive to Texas to earn more, right?
You mean that nurses make less in Oklahoma too?
But....but... cops, they can drive over the state line and make more money?
Okay, cops make more in Texas, they should strike too.
Ok, but surely prison guards need to strike too so they don't have to leave the state?
You mean that nearly ALL of Oklahoma workers can make more money in Texas?
Looks like Oklahoma teachers have it pretty good compared to the rest of us. Should accountants go on strike along with the cops, prison guards, and nurses? Maybe all of us go on strike, after all the workers in other states make more than we do here in Oklahoma.
But education budget has been slashed to the bone, right? No, the 2006 total education revenue sent to the school system was 5,820,214,944, then ten years later it was $7,822,653,806, a 35% increase. But the spending increase by the schools in that same time was only 24%, from 5,152,280,457 to 6,712,315,659. If there was more money coming into the school systems why wasn't more being spent on instruction of the students?
I went to look at support staff, non instructional, debt payment, and building cost increases. Instructional dollars dropped by 7%, Support staff costs rose by 3%, non instructional costs rose 8%, debt payment rose 11%, and building costs surged by 25%. Ah, now we see where the cash has been going.
2016 Instructional 43.67% Support 31.4 Non instructional 6.2 % Debt 10% Bldg 8.3 % 6,712,315,659
2006 Instructional 46.4 Support 32.3% Non instructional 5.7% Debt 8.9% Bldg 6.2% 5,152,280,457
Meanwhile the percentage of budget rose from 33% of the state budget to 38.9% in 2014, to 47.8% and when extra teacher retirement pay is figured in over 51% of the 2017 Oklahoma budget goes to common education.
We have 43,356 teachers and are spending $154,818 per teacher but Revenue per teacher is $180,428 or $11,276 per student, $25,610.00 less per student. Where is the ever increasing money going if it isn't being spent? And put in retirement plan payments and that per pupil spending is over $12,000.
Now think about it, $180,428 is raised in taxes and other sources per teacher and the teachers make an average of $46,000 per year. Something is wrong, bad wrong, and we don't have a low revenue problem, we have a spending problem.
Perhaps it is time to tell the teachers union thugs to stuff it and open up vouchers for private school. After all, if the state is constitutionally required to provide an education why don't homeschooled and private schooled kids get their share of the tax dollars used to their benefit? There are online charter schools that can expand quickly and at very low cost to the state and little cost if any to the students and families of Oklahoma.
