Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Negotiation agreements seeking ratification to increase teacher and staff pay in Bartlesville pass successfully. Bartlesville Schools Superintendent Chuck McCauley says teachers, support employees and hourly employees in the Bartlesville Education Association and the Bartlesville Education Classified Personnel Organization will receive a full pay raise plus a step increase after Monday nights school board meeting.

New teachers returning for their second year with BHS will receive a $5,800 increase in salary. Teachers with a bachelors and 30 years of experience with teaching will receive a $9,800 increase in salary. Anyone with a advanced college degree and experience will receive more pay as well. Hourly employees and support employees will have a $1,250 pay raise.

According to McCauley, several teachers have been reported to quit their second jobs and several have decided to stay in the profession. The pay raise puts Oklahoma second in teacher pay within the states respected region.

The next step for Oklahoma education, McCauley says, is to increase funds for academic electives. McCauley says that a third of Oklahoma schools are without a world language course and others struggle with differemt superlatives.

Despite being down $750 million in that respected area, McCauley says that BHS should make up that deficit in three to four years. He also says that Bartlesville schools have benefitted from the bond issues and the Public Schools Foundation when it comes to being able to support academc electives in the school district.