{"id":30898,"date":"2018-10-26T11:27:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T16:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30898"},"modified":"2018-10-26T11:48:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T16:48:34","slug":"state-department-of-education-asks-lawmakers-to-increase-education-funding-by-440-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/10\/26\/state-department-of-education-asks-lawmakers-to-increase-education-funding-by-440-million\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department of Education asks lawmakers to increase education funding by $440 million"},"content":{"rendered":"
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State Department of Education<\/p>\n

A graph showing the growth in the student population and decline in teacher population.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The State Department of Education is asking lawmakers to increase education funding by a total of\u00a0$440 million\u00a0<\/a>next year.<\/p>

Included in the agency\u2019s budget proposal for the 2019-2020 public school year is a request for an additional $273 million to help school districts hire more teachers and reduce class sizes.<\/p>

State education officials say Oklahoma\u2019s student population has grown by 40,000 students since 2010 but schools have 1,500 fewer teachers than they did eight years ago.<\/p>

\u2018We simply have to have an investment in this area in order to see this gap begin to narrow,\u201d said Carolyn Thompson, the education department\u2019s Chief of Government Affairs.<\/p>

The budget proposal for lawmakers to consider during the 2019 legislative session also includes a new line item: $58 million to help districts hire more counselors. Oklahoma\u2019s current student to counselor ratio is 435 to 1. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 to 1.<\/p>

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is also asking the Legislature for $5.3 million to improve training for new and emergency certified teachers.<\/p>

The agency asked for an increase of $470 million\u00a0<\/a>last year. It got most of that in the form of a teacher pay raise, which it is not seeking this year.<\/p>

The agency\u2019s new budget request also includes:<\/p>\n