The Dallas metro gets a lot of things Oklahoma Citians want: IKEA, The Container Store, In-N-Out Burger, a rapid transit system, etc. Now they have turned the tables and are coming after our teachers.
It’s no secret that Oklahoma educators aren’t paid enough. KOCO.com reported average teacher pay in the state is $44,921, the lowest in the seven-state region.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1114, which is being reviewed by a Senate subcommittee.
HB 1114 would raise teacher salaries by $6,000 over three years, but the state has yet to figure out where the money would come from — and it might be too late to keep some from leaving.
Dallas Independent School District (ISD) visited OKC March 30-April 2 to recruit city teachers, KFOR.com reported. Dallas ISD held interviews and information sessions and can offer things — like $50,000 starting salaries — that our state won’t.
“We are definitely at a crisis level as you see Dallas coming to Oklahoma and offering a beginning pay at $51,000 versus an Oklahoma school offering at $31,000,” Shawn Hime, Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director, told KFOR.com. “We just can’t compete anymore.”
Not that we know any teachers who launch their careers with hopes of earning expansive affluence.
“None of us are in education to make a lot of money or to be wealthy,” Millwood High School teacher Phreed Evans told NewsChannel 4. “We don’t want to be in education and live just above the poverty line. … To hear that someone from outside of the state is coming in to offer us to something that we should be getting at home is frustrating.”
According to its Facebook page, Dallas ISD Recruitment also visited Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.
