Teacher turned lawmaker believes state surplus should be spent on several state agencies

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) – As the year comes to an end, Oklahoma is seeing $612 million more in revenue. This is the first time in years our state has seen a surplus in the budget like this.

Shortly after this announcement, the Oklahoma Education Association made one of their own saying they need about two-thirds of that money for education.

The OEA is asking for $150 million in additional classroom funding, a $3,000 teacher pay raise, a $2,000 raise for support staff, and an 8 percent cost of living adjustment for retirees.

John Waldron, a former teacher, is getting ready for his term in the legislator.

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“I think the educator legislators are going to be practical; they are going to work together in a new and refreshing way I think a way Oklahomans have been waiting for, for a long time,” he said. “Teachers deserve more, students need, above all, to have smaller classroom sizes, more materials, and we’ve got to get out there and support school support staff.”

For 20 years, he’s taught social studies at Booker T. Washington.

“It’s really the reason I got on this road,” he said. “I ran for office because I was tired of seeing my school get kicked around.”

Meeting the OEA’s needs would cost at least $400 million. With a $612 million surplus, it seems doable, but it isn’t that easy.

“Yeah, we have money right now, but it’s going to go very fast,” Waldron said. “It’s not just about education. It’s not just about new revenues we have now. We need a good steady revenue system for the future,” especially with other entities that are in crucial need of money.

“We have to look at healthcare, roads and a hundred other things that have had their budgets cut over the last decade,” he said. “There’s a lot that’s been left out of the education budget over the last decade, a lot of deferred maintenance but that’s also true of DHS workers, mental health workers, hospitals. The needs are critical all over the place.”

Waldron said they have to look at the big picture to make our state better.

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“We’re not one-issue candidates,” he said. “Teachers got in there, and we became teachers originally because we wanted to make society better one student and one classroom at a time. Now, we have a larger classroom.”

The legislature convenes Feb. 4.

Waldron says criminal justice policies is another big issue he looks forward to addressing and helping to avoid another round of tax cuts.

“One thing we don’t need is another round of tax cuts that only benefit a few at the cost of the many,” he said.