Teacher Shortages Plague Nation
April 24, 2024
Teacher Shortage Not Endemic to Oklahoma
Teacher turnover hit its highest point since the pandemic last school year, when more than 6,000 Oklahoma public school teachers left the classroom.
As Jennifer Palmer reported, the crush of school departures occurred even as the state implemented the largest salary increase for educators since 2018 at $3,000 to $6,000 per teacher.
“There’s no question: overall, there continues to be a serious crisis,” said Chris Tobler, director of human resources for Mustang Public Schools, the state’s 11th largest district.
As troubling as Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is, the state doesn’t even crack the top 10. As reported by Universities.com’s Sara Harris, the Nevada State Education Association estimates they are in need of more than 2,700 teachers throughout the state. Houston has more than 2,200 teaching vacancies, and Texas’ rural school districts are implementing a 4-day school week.
The U.S. Departments of Education and Labor are funding pathways to education as a career in hopes of adding more teachers to the pipeline.
Agency Head Spent Millions With Husband’s Firm
A state audit released yesterday estimated the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission overpaid more than $8 million in claims during fiscal year 2022. But the egregious finding was that Shelly Zumwalt, who Gov. Kevin Stitt recently appointed Secretary of Tourism, approved more than $14 million in state contracts with tech firm Phase 2, without disclosing she was married to the company’s vice president.
The no-bid contracts were awarded by OMES in 2020, when Zumwalt was the agency’s chief innovation officer, and by OESC between 2020 and 2022, when Zumwalt was executive director.
“It should also be noted that this vendor had no contracts with the State of Oklahoma prior to April of 2020,” the audit said.
In a press release, Attorney General Gentner Drummond called for Zumwalt’s immediate resignation
More worth reading:
Biden Bans Bathroom Bans
A new rule from President Joe Biden’s administration blocking blanket policies to keep transgender students from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states. [AP]
Ross Johnson: “Their”
“Nex, the 16-year-old Owasso High School student who died one day after being beaten by other students in the school’s bathroom, briefly hospitalized and released, now posthumously serves as another stark reminder of how the weight of hateful rhetoric, political policies, and failed leadership impact the lives of young Oklahomans whose sin against the state is innocently ‘being themselves.’” [Oklahoma Eagle]
Teacher’s Defamation Case May Move Forward
A federal judge has denied a request by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him by a former Norman teacher. [The Oklahoman]
Happy Birthday, Tyson Ritter. The All-American Rejects singer was born on this day in 1984 in Stillwater.
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomawatch.org
