Lawton Superintendent Kevin Hime mentioned Gov. Kevin Stitt had some robust pro-education proposals in Monday’s State of the State address.
“There are a lot of things in there we can build on,” Hime mentioned, including it is vital for the state to spend money on public education if Oklahoma is to address persevering with shortfalls that forestall it from being aggressive.
Hime mentioned one of many issues he wants the Legislature to address is funding for trainer salaries, saying he didn’t hear a lot about that within the governor’s address past a proposal for performance-based pay raises. Hime mentioned he doesn’t assist that concept, explaining there has by no means been a mannequin to link merit-based efficiency with pay that labored.
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“It’s disheartening that there was no pay raise for teachers,” he mentioned.
The most vital factor state officers can do for public education is funding and that assist wants to stay on public education, Hime mentioned, including an estimated 100,000 college students in Oklahoma will not be in public school rooms (they’re residence schooled or in constitution faculties). He mentioned the state can construct the power of its public faculties by investing the {dollars} that enable educators to address scholar wants.
Hime mentioned Lawton Public Schools already is doing a number of the issues Stitt proposed. For instance, the governor directed the Legislature to take into account increasing concurrent education alternatives, which means rising the quantity of highschool college students who can enroll concurrently in college-level courses for credit score. Lawton already has expanded that chance to its sophomores and freshmen, Hime mentioned. He mentioned the district additionally has revamped its profession education program (one other Stitt proposal), increasing choices by means of its new Life Ready Center.
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