Oklahoma senators to recommend school support staff wage boost, but not Walters’ ‘Back to Basics’ plan

OKLAHOMA CITY — Senate education officials plan to propose $2,500 stipends for school support staff, but they won’t pursue state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ $60.55 million “Back to Basics” plan, a leading lawmaker said.

Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, estimated support staff stipends could cost about $85 million in one-time funds. Pugh leads the Senate Education Committee and a subcommittee on education funding.

On Wednesday, the subcommittee approved its recommendations for state agency budgets, including allocations for public schools and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Although it wasn’t discussed in Wednesday’s meeting, the $2,500 stipends will be part of the subcommittee’s recommendation to the full Senate Appropriations Committee, Pugh said.

What wasn’t included in that recommendation was the $60.55 million Walters suggested spending on recruitment and tutoring bonuses for teachers, which he called a “Back to Basics” initiative.

Pugh said the subcommittee dropped the idea because of “limited funds.”

“It wasn’t something that we prioritized, and with finite resources, we didn’t want to do that,” he said.

The state Education Department didn’t return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The Legislature agreed to raise teacher salaries by $3,000 to $6,000 last year, with Pugh as a leading architect of the pay increases. The raises were part of a $625 million increase to public education funding.

School support employees — such as custodians, cafeteria workers and paraprofessionals — didn’t receive a dedicated pay raise from the Legislature last year. However, school districts were free to use the extra funding to boost support staff wages.

Pugh also proposed a second consecutive teacher pay raise of $1,500 to $3,000, depending on years of experience. The measure passed the Senate Education Committee this month and advanced to the appropriations panel.