School superintendents, including Muldrow School Superintendent Roger Sharp, joined Democratic legislators recently in calling for the Honesty in Funding Education Act to be heard on the House floor.
The Honesty in Funding Education Act, by State Rep. Jerry McPeak (D-Warner), would fulfill the commitment made to school districts during the 2006 session of the State legislature, according to a recent press from the state capitol.
During the 2006 session the legislature mandated that school districts give teachers in the state a $3,000 pay increase. However, in spite of commitments made on the floor by House leadership, the legislature failed to appropriate money to the school districts that would cover the costs associated with the pay raises.
"Once again our legislature has passed on an unfunded mandate to school districts," Sharp said. "We need the legislature to take action on House Bill 1935 by March 9. This will give us enough time to figure out our budgets for the next year. We need to have enough money to hire teachers for next year. As of right now, if a teacher is retiring, we don't have enough money to hire a new one to replace him or her."
Most school districts are being forced to spend money out of their operational budgets for costs associated with the pay raises. Now schools' budgets are falling short and the money is needed for basic costs. Shortfalls due to this unfunded mandate may result in some teachers losing their job.
"I served on the interim study that looked into solving this problem," Glen Elliot, superintendent from Burlington Public Schools, said. "The total money needed from school districts across the state is $58 million. We were told we were going to get this funding after the 2006 session. We are still waiting for the funding for the unfunded mandates."
School superintendents from 10 school districts attended the recent press conference.
