Fallin had no choice but to spike her teacher pay proposal

In the end, Gov. Mary Fallin had no other choice but to wave the white flag on her idea of a special session to come up with a teacher pay raise plan. Most legislators simply had no interest.

Fallin floated the notion in July, after state finance officials confirmed that the state had $140.8 million on hand after the fiscal year ended June 30. The money became available when midterm budget cuts to state agencies wound up being steeper than necessary to balance the budget.

Fallin in July instructed state finance officials to develop a plan for permanent annual teacher pay raises that would meet or exceed $5,000 per year. The $140.8 million would have covered raises of about $2,000.

Critics said Fallin was simply trying to sideline a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase that will be on the Nov. 8 ballot. If that state question is approved by voters, revenue generated by the increase will pay for $5,000, across-the-board teacher raises and provide funding to higher education, CareerTech and other programs.

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