Sand Springs City Council approves resolution of support for teachers

The City of Sand Springs issued a proclamation of support for Sand Springs teachers at Monday night’s regular City Council meeting. Proclamation sponsor Brian Jackson pointed to quality education as a necessity for strong economic growth.

Sand Springs Public Schools teachers are preparing for a potential walkout on April 2nd if the State Legislature doesn’t pass significant education funding reform by that date. The Legislature failed to pass a teacher pay raise in special session this past year and the political action committee Oklahoma Education Association has issued a series of demands for the current session. OEA is requesting $10,000 in teacher pay raises over a three-year period, as well as raises for support staff and significant increases in general education funding.

The Sand Springs Board of Education recently approved a proclamation of solidarity with teachers, declaring their support for any SSPS employees who feel the need to walk out. Superintendent Sherry Durkee has stated that the district would have no choice but to shut down should a walkout occur, due to gross understaffing and an inability to provide a safe and productive environment for students.

Durkee spoke at the Council meeting prior to the vote, and addressed a statewide teacher shortage as educators have left the field or emigrated to neighboring states for significant salary increases. Despite eliminating many positions across the district, SSPS is still having difficulty drawing a qualified pool of candidates for open positions, says Durkee.

The following proclamation was unanimously approved by City Council.

“WHEREAS, the City of Sand Springs City Council recognizes the need to pay teachers a wage competitive with surrounding states and is a witness to the impact underfunding can have on economic development efforts of the City; andWHEREAS, Oklahoma Educators have supported and worked to find solutions to fund teacher pay raises and common education, only to see legislation addressing this issue fail to pass; andWHEREAS, we acknowledge measures by Oklahoma teachers to obtain necessary funding for a meaningful teacher pay raise and approval of this resolution is a show of support to our education community;THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAND SPRINGS, OKLAHOMA, AS FOLLOWS;The City Council of the City of Sand Springs supports our teachers and educators, and the local Boards of Education; and we urge the Oklahoma State Legislature to work on behalf of the education professionals in our state to take swift action to develop a viable plan to pay teachers a competitive wage and fund common education.This resolution is approved in open meeting of the City Council of the City of Sand Springs on the 26th day of March, 2017.”