Anyone reading my blog posts or column knows that I'm unabashedly biased toward our public schools, teachers, and students. While I quote data and statistics which support my opinions as to why Oklahoma has the lowest teacher pay in the nation and why our students are mistreated by the legislature when it comes to allocating appropriations to our public schools. I also quote data and opinions of others as to why our Oklahoma teachers are not underpaid and how our public schools are not underfunded. To this end, I'll try to be unbiased as we take a look at the Oklahoma teacher pay issue.
Many studies and much research indicate that teacher pay in Oklahoma ranks among the bottom states in the nation - as low as 49th, above only Mississippi according to some. For this reason, many experts say that our Oklahoma teachers need and deserve a raise. Most lawmakers say that although teachers do need a pay increase, "Oklahoma does not have the money to provide a teacher pay increase, while staring down the barrel of an almost $1 billion budget deficit". My opinion is that both statements are true - "Oklahoma teachers need and deserve a pay raise" but "Oklahoma does not have the money right now to provide a teacher pay raise".
Many public school finance "experts" say, however, "because the cost-of-living is much lower in Oklahoma than almost all states, Oklahoma teachers pay actually ranks much higher than 49th". The experts also say that most Oklahoma teachers are overpaid because "they only work 9 months out of the year", so are free to take lavish vacations during the summer months. One state senator quoted some data which indicates that any Oklahoma City teacher who moves to Dallas to teach, will actually earn less money in Texas. He laments that he "felt compelled to do some research" to determine if Oklahoma teachers are indeed ranked 49th in the nation for salary, and encourages others to do the same. I agree with the senator in that "If you're going to do a study, you need to carefully research and take into account all relative factors" such as cost-of-living adjustments which affect teacher salaries. Again, I agree. What I disagree with is his interpretation of the data, when he says "...the average (teacher) pay in Dallas is $55,052... the average Oklahoma teacher's salary, adjusted for Dallas' cost of living, would be $55,825" so "the teacher would actually be losing $773 per year by moving from Oklahoma City to Dallas". My friend, the senator, points out that an "...average Oklahoma City teacher's salary is $46,635 while the average pay in Dallas is $55,052", an $8,417 difference.
I've accepted my senator friend's invitation to "carefully research and take into account all relative factors". According to Cost of Living: How far will my salary go in another city, CNNMoney, a resident teacher of Oklahoma City, earning $50,000 would earn a comparable salary of $54,036 if moving to Dallas. In other words, a teacher living in Oklahoma City earning $50,000 must be paid $4,036 more in Dallas to break even. The cost-of-living is higher in Dallas than it is in Oklahoma City, so if a teacher moving to Dallas from OKC receives an $8,417 raise, he or she would actually only see a $4,831 raise, according to the Cost of Living index. Let's use another example: If an Edmond Public Schools teacher earning $50,000 gets a job teaching in Denton, Texas, where the cost of living is less, he or she must only make a comparable salary of $48,494. "Simple math" as my senator friend states, results in the teacher actually getting a $8,417 + $1,506 = $9,923 raise when factoring the cost of living.
My senator friend is not wrong when quoting the salary comparisons between Oklahoma City teachers and Dallas teachers (according to his data) - but his motive must now be questioned, since his data is different than other collected data. He is either trying to talk Oklahoma City teachers out of accepting a job in Dallas, or he truly believes that Oklahoma teachers make slightly more than Texas teachers. My motives for posting data which is diametrically opposed to my friend's data may also be questioned - I am either trying to talk teachers into leaving Oklahoma for Texas or I truly believe that Texas teachers earn more money than Oklahoma teachers... (it's the latter). There are several groups which truly do not like Oklahoma teachers and public schools, however, so we'll quote their bogus data next time.
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