Board approves application for Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Grant with merit stipend plan

The Midwest City-Del City Board of Education approved staff’s request to apply for the Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Grant, a state program that would allow districts to distribute stipend bonuses to teachers under specified criteria.

Superintendent (Speaker 12) told the board the district’s plan would reward up to 10% of fully certified teachers as long as the state funds those stipends; the district’s proposal copies elements from other districts while adding local criteria. The superintendent emphasized that the program provides stipends paid outside the salary schedule ("It is a stipend."), noting those payments do not factor into retirement. The application would be annual and scored based on the prior school year’s performance.

Board members raised questions about sustainability, the number of eligible teachers (estimated 75–80), whether lengthy additional contract days (5, 10 or 15) could create barriers to applicants, and how principals and instructional leaders would participate in evaluation. The superintendent said the 10% cap may be difficult to hit in year one and that staff plan to refine criteria after the first cycle. A motion to apply was made, seconded and carried.

The transcript records discussion about distinguishing stipends from salary and notes the district will use existing evaluation and teaching‑and‑learning staff in the review process. No final list of stipend recipients was published at the meeting.