Well, I have to give our new superintendent a lot of credit. He's finally got the books balanced and is giving money to the people that deserve it most: the teachers. This is in stark contrast to the situation he faced when he came to office: lack of funds and having to lay of teachers. Of course, this was the result of many years of mismanagement by the OKC Public School District, and can't be blamed on Bill Wheitsel, former superintendent. If anything, Wheitsel got the ball rolling in the right direction. Anyways, I praise the new superintendent for finally getting the district moving in the right direction. From the way it sounds, the new superintendent also has the right plans for changing the district. Reducing class sizes is always a plus.

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"City district approves raise for teachers


By Michael Bratcher
The Oklahoman

Teachers in the Oklahoma City School District will receive an average pay raise of about $1,850 this school year, district officials said Monday night.
The Oklahoma City School Board approved pay raises for its roughly 2,500 teachers. It's been two years since the district raised teacher pay because of a tight operating budget.

Superintendent Bob Moore said the board wanted to reward teachers for improved scores last spring on state-mandated tests.

"They worked hard and kept their focus, and we're really thrilled we're able to reward them within the context of our budget," Moore said.

The district has budgeted about $3.8 million for the pay increase.

Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers, said educators will receive anywhere from $900 to $4,100 more in pay this year based on the number of years they've been teaching.

"The district and the superintendent in particular are recognizing the value of teachers in Oklahoma City Public Schools, and we appreciate that," Allen said after the board meeting.

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Michael McGuire, a math teacher at Northeast Academy High School, said anytime the board "takes care of our teachers is great news."

McGuire should receive about a $1,700 pay raise, based on his six years experience, but he said he didn't enter the teaching profession for the money.

"I could have done a thousand other things, but teaching is what I wanted to do. It is my heart's passion," he said.

Allen said teachers could notice the raises in their paychecks as early as next month. Changes to the district's payroll system are necessary before the raises can be issued, officials said.

Typically, teachers have contracts in place before the start of the school year. Last year's contract wasn't settled until May -- less than a month before the end of the school year.

Another $1.8 million is being budgeted to reduce class sizes, which Moore hopes to accomplish by the end of the month.

Moore has a goal of reducing elementary classes to a 22-to-1 ratio of students to teachers and secondary classrooms to 25-to-1. "