$2-point-6 billion!
That is what the Oklahoma Department of Education is requesting for the next fiscal year. State School Superintendent Joy Hofmeister presented the budget request to a state house committee today. The budget request is $200-million more than last year’s appropriation. The extra dollars may be hard to come-by, since the state is $800-million short of maintaining the status quo.
She lobbied for teacher pay hikes. Hofmeister says the state must address the historic teacher shortfall. The Superintendent says low teacher pay is so bad, that Northeastern State University at Tahlequah has seen a 30% drop, over two years, in those wanting to become teachers.
The budget presentation is just the first step in drafting the fiscal year 2018 spending plan.