• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Tulsa, Okla., Teacher Pay-Hike Plan Popular

Posted on: Friday, 16 September 2005, 18:00 CDT

Sep. 16--Tulsa teachers stand to receive raises of $1,500 on average, officials said Thursday.

Proposed terms of a new employment contract with Tulsa Public Schools include increases for teachers at all levels of the district salary scale, said Steve Stockley, president of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association.

Annual raises for teachers, called "step raises," would range from $1,400 for a second-year teacher with a bachelor's degree to $2,680 for an 11-year teacher with a doctoral degree, according to the proposed salary scale.

Stockley hailed a permanent $1,500 raise proposed for career teachers who have reached the top of the district's pay scale, instead of the one-year stipends those teachers have received in recent years.

"We are very happy. We think this is an excellent package," Stockley said.

"We're very happy there are no stipends for career teachers but a permanent addition to their salary."

In addition to the step raises, teachers with special assignments, such as leading a department, serving bus duty or cafeteria duty or coaching, would receive an additional 5 percent, Stockley said.

The largest stipend proposed for the new contract is a $5,000 stipend for speech pathologists with a special certification of clinical competence, because those employees are in high demand in the district.

Teachers have until 4:45 p.m. Monday to vote to accept or reject the pro posed terms of the new contract. A simple majority is required for approval.

Bill Naftzger, the school district's chief human resources officer, said the school board also will have to vote on the proposal, which it is scheduled to do at a 7 p.m. regular meeting Monday.

If the proposed contract is approved by the district's teachers and the school board, teachers' pay increases would appear in their October checks, officials said.

-----

To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Tulsa World, Okla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Tulsa World

More News in this Category