Budget Outlook Could Impact Teacher Pay Raise Measures
Teacher pay raise proposals fleeting as budget hole widens
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
OKLAHOMA CITY — Proposals to raise teacher pay are fleeting as the state’s budget picture gets worse.
State officials on Thursday added a 4 percent cut to state-appropriated agencies on top of an earlier 3 percent reduction to deal with a revenue failure this fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the state expects to have $1.3 billion less to craft the fiscal year 2017 budget, a figure that grew from $900.8 million.
During her State of the State address to lawmakers on Feb. 1, Fallin called for a $3,000 teacher pay raise.
“And we can do it without raising the state sales tax rate to the highest level in the nation,” Fallin said in the speech, referring to an initiative petition being circulated to get the issue on the November ballot.