Wakefield: It is disappointing that lawmakers did not have the foresight to plan for changes in the economy.
HOWARD - An Oklahoma school superintendent says, “It just hurts my heart” when discussing the situation of the teachers in that state. According to The Washington Post, the teachers have not had a pay raise in 10 years, and Oklahoma is rated No. 49 out of 50 states for the low pay and large class sizes. These teachers have been forced to take second jobs, rely on food pantries and do anything to pay their bills. Some have even had students bring them groceries because the students' parents realized that the teachers could not feed their families.
I was born and raised in Oklahoma, graduated from college there and had my first teaching job there. We had great schools when I was growing up. I had wonderful teachers. And, I am pretty sure that they were paid a living wage — nothing grand, but enough to buy a home and raise a family. So what has happened since I was a student?
Oklahoma bases much of its income on gas and oil. When the times were good, they made a series of tax cuts. When the times turned bad, the tax cuts left the state economy very weak and created a crisis for state public services. Lawmakers had two options: They could cut the budget of every state agency, or they could raise taxes. They cut money for state agencies. The very conservative lawmakers hated to raise taxes. It is disappointing that lawmakers did not have the foresight to plan for changes in the economy.