Oklahoma is struggling with a drastic teacher shortage, reports KOCO.
According to a recent survey Oklahoma districts have eliminated over 1,500 teaching positions since last school year. The state has also gotten rid of almost 1,400 school support positions. This amounts to a total of almost 3,000 education jobs lost in Oklahoma this year.
Last year, as a result of state budget cuts, Oklahoma school districts eliminated more than 2,000 positions.
In the survey, school leaders said hiring teachers was more difficult this year than last year. That’s because many teachers are leaving to work in other states—or quitting the profession altogether.
Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, didn’t mince words. “We are hemorrhaging teachers to Texas, Arkansas and Kansas,” he said. “This is what it looks like when a state fails its schools and its children.”