Gov. Brad Henry (D) • Feb. 4
In his annual speech to lawmakers, Gov. Henry urged them to follow through with the final year of a five-year plan to raise Oklahoma’s average teacher salary by $1,200—bringing it up to the regional average of $43,519. He backed a plan by state schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett to expand the school year, whose length lags behind those of most other states by five days, and he proposed a “graduation coach” program aimed at keeping at-risk students from dropping out. That program would be modeled after one in Georgia, which Gov. Sonny Perdue recently recommended for expansion. (“Georgia,” Jan. 23, 2008.)
