Oklahoma maintained its spot at 34th nationally in average teacher salaries but continues to rank last in the region and near the bottom nationally in per pupil expenditures, according to numbers recently released by the National Education Association.
According to NEA’s Rankings of the States 2020 and Estimates of School Statistics 2021, the Sooner State ranks near the middle nationally in average teacher pay at $54,096. But the state’s $10,475 per pupil puts Oklahoma 47th nationally and last in the region for 2019-20.
Colorado tops the region in average teacher pay at $57,706 (25th nationally). Next is Texas (27th, $57,090), New Mexico (32nd, $54,256), Oklahoma, Kansas (44th, $51,320), Missouri (45th, $50,817) and Arkansas (47th, $50,456). The national average is $62,355.
New Mexico leads the region at 26th in per pupil expenditure at $13,494, followed by Colorado (27th, $13,385, Kansas (29th, $13,174), Missouri (35th, $12,168), Texas (37th, $11,770), and Arkansas (44th, $10,833). The national average is $14,602 per pupil.
“These statistics show that, while we’ve made great strides over the last three years, Oklahoma is far from meeting the needs of our students,” said OEA Pres. Alicia Priest. “Our state has just not made the commitment to fund the classroom like all but one other state in our region.”
The effect of the COVID pandemic is yet to be seen. Enrollment is down in brick-and-mortar public schools, particularly in preschool and kindergarten. That trend is expected to reverse itself next year as schools return to full-time, in-person teaching and learning.
Teacher shortages were an issue prior to the pandemic, with declining enrollments in teacher preparation programs. The Learning Policy Institute has projected annual shortfalls of over 100,000 teachers due to fewer people entering the profession and increased retirements or resignations because of low pay, high stress and challenging working conditions.
“Like schools across the nation, we have been struggling with a teacher shortage that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Priest said. “Fewer college students are entering programs that would prepare them for education careers because they are attracted to better-paying professions. In order to ensure that every student has a qualified teacher in the classroom and caring professionals in schools, we must make better investment in what we pay educators so careers in education are more attractive.”
While public education has benefited from federal money to help schools through the pandemic, it is not recurring money. It will be up to the legislature to ensure education funding doesn’t fall further behind the surrounding states.
“Public education is the choice of more than 90% of Oklahoma families,” Priest said. “Funding education is an investment in our future.”
