Oklahoma Senate leader says teacher pay bill gives ‘false hope’

Sen. Mike Schulz

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A plan approved overwhelmingly in the House to raise Oklahoma teacher pay by $6,000 over the next three years appears to be facing a stiffer challenge in the state Senate.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz said Thursday without a way to pay for the raise, the bill amounts to giving teachers “false hope.”
The House voted 92-7 this week for the bill that calls for a $1,000 pay raise for teachers next year, $2,000 the following year and $3,000 in the third year. Each $1,000 pay raise costs about $53 million.
But Schulz says lawmakers already are facing a budget hole of nearly $880 million and that it doesn’t make sense to incur more debt without some method of funding it.

House Bill 1114: http://bit.ly/2lfTxD6