State Question 779 would raise the state sales tax by one cent per dollar to 5.5% and dedicate a majority of the revenue to higher teacher pay.
Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation in teacher pay, according to recent studies, and has been losing teachers to surrounding states. In Texas, starting teachers earn $50,000, while those in Oklahoma average $31,600. Every state bordering Oklahoma provides higher pay for teachers.
Since 2008, Oklahoma has cut state support for the school aid formula by more than $170 million, and funding for higher education and career tech has also been cut, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
This year about 1,500 teaching positions and 1,300 support worker positions have been lost to budget cuts in Oklahoma schools, yet schools still report about 1,000 unfilled teaching positions, OPI reported. Hundreds more positions are being filled by emergency certified teachers who do not meet the state's legal qualifications to be a classroom teacher.
SQ 779 was placed on the 2016 ballot through a successful
The new sales tax would take effect on July 1 and is projected to raise $615 million in its first full year.
The constitutional amendment would direct 69.5% of the revenue to K-12 school districts, with the remainder split among state colleges and universities, career and technical education, and the state education department.
Opponents say they generally agree that teachers deserve a raise, but say that there are ways to fund a pay raise without raising taxes and without committing to more spending on higher education and career tech.
The sales tax is regressive, opponents say, which means that the tax increase will affect low- and moderate-income households more than wealthier households.
Oklahoma allows local governments to impose sales taxes, and critics cite high combined state and local rates that already reach as high as 11%. Cities, which are heavily reliant on the sales tax, will be hindered in their capacity to raise the sales tax for municipal priorities, opponents say.
Even with the measure's language preventing money from SQ 779 supplanting other funding, there is nothing to prevent the Legislature from enacting further tax cuts that will offset this increase, opponents say. However, supporters note that the ballot measure includes strong constitutional safeguards to make sure the dollars will be spent as intended.
The ballot measure is especially relevant to districts near the border, where teachers can easily commute to competing jobs in other states.
