Several teachers in Oklahoma who were paid hefty signing bonuses last fall are being told those were granted in error, and the state is now demanding the money back. At least one of those teachers is suing.
The bonuses were designed by the Oklahoma Department of Education to recruit teachers for hard-to-fill positions, such as early elementary and special education. Teachers, at least one of them urged by a supervisor, applied and received funds via the Teaching Signing Bonus program instituted by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters last year.
The bonuses were paid in November, giving teachers just enough time to spend the money before the state’s sudden demand that they pay it back by the end of February, including taxes, or it would be sent to collections, Oklahoma Watch reported.
Oklahoma’s state education department has said it awarded $185,000 to teachers who were not qualified for the program and paid $105,000 to teachers who were qualified but received too much money. At least nine teachers are affected. Lawmakers from both parties, as well as the affected teachers, are crying foul, according to The Oklahoman.
Special education teacher Kristina Stadelmen was awarded $50,000, netting $29,000 after taxes.
“I obviously don’t have the money to pay it back by the end of February,” said Stadelman, who used the mini windfall for home improvements and to fund her maternity leave. “I came home the day I found out and just cried for two days straight.”
Those eligible for the bonus program must be certified teachers who commit to five years serving in pre-kindergarten through third grade classrooms, as well as pre-K through 12th grade special education classes in Oklahoma public-school districts, Oklahoma Watch reported.
Another stated stipulation is that the teacher cannot have been employed in an Oklahoma public school district during the 2022-2023 academic year. However, not everyone understood that requirement. The state says it gave out the bonuses before realizing the teachers in question were not eligible, reported KTUL-TV.
Kay Bojorquez applied after a supervisor suggested it, not realizing that working at Epic Charter Schools last year meant she should have been turned down. She didn’t know anything was wrong until the Jan. 13 letter arrived telling her that the $50,000 she’d been awarded, which she used to pay down debt and send her son to college, was not hers to keep.
“When I read the letter, I threw up,” she told Oklahoma Watch last week. “I’ve had two panic attacks in the last two days.”
She and others said being forced to pay it back will cause financial ruin. Borjorquez has filed a lawsuit against Walters and the state education department.
