A new billboard campaign in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Norman and Stillwater hopes to poach current and future teachers from Oklahoma schools and bring them to Fort Worth, Texas.
The Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) is funding the campaign. It simply lays out the pay disparity between Oklahoma teachers and of those in Texas, even after recent legislation to increase teacher pay in Oklahoma kicks in.
The billboard highlights that the starting salary for Fort Worth ISD teachers is $52,000 – a rate that some teachers in Oklahoma will not be able to make, regardless of seniority they may have in a district. Others in districts with more money could reach that rate after multiple years of service.
Tulsa area drivers and parents told KOKI that they felt like Fort Worth ISD is trying to cash in on the fact that Oklahoma lawmakers haven't provided adequate cash and salaries to state classrooms for years now.
Some described the signs as a slap in the face, but they said the situation presents a wakeup call that other states still have it better when it comes to education spending and teacher salaries.
The Fort Worth ISD superintendent said in a statement that many saw the passion for teaching educators in Oklahoma have, and they simply want to give them a place that has adequate funding and a good paying salary for them to explore their passions in.
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