What will Oklahoma’s education budget look like under new leadership?State lawmakers got their first look on Wednesday. KOCO 5 looked into what state superintendent Ryan Walters proposed and the questions he faced.| MORE | State Superintendent Ryan Walters proposes incentive-pay model for teachersThe headline was merit-based pay raises he said would help teachers who too often are leaving after being trained in Oklahoma."We do know that we are not keeping teachers. What are you going to help us to do once they're trained to keep them in there, other than your merit pay idea?" said state Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon.It was one of the first questions posed by state lawmakers to Walters on Wednesday morning. He argued a statewide policy of training and advancement will keep teachers in Oklahoma.He argued past programs that the state had funded were short term and, in turn, did not incentivize educators to stay."We have to stand up the programs to allow everyone to get there, and so that's what I've seen in the past, Rep. Baker, is there have been allocations made here, we're still falling behind," Walters said.Other questions focused on the teacher merit-based raise proposal. "One way to increase teacher pay in your district, if you had a retention problem, would be simply to declare all your teachers superior. How are we going to keep each one of them from working from a scarcity mindset to game the system?" said state Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa. Walters wants schools to offer raises based on performance, and the raises would range from $2,500 up to $10,000."Texas has done this in a way that the evaluations for districts who want to enter the incentive program are turned over to the state department that then analyzes it to see if it is authenticated in a way that it makes sense," Walters said.Top HeadlinesFormer Oklahoma State football player indicted on rape, kidnapping charges in OhioFirefighter rescued after falling through floor while at OKC house fire, officials sayRichard Glossip’s wife reacts to Oklahoma AG ordering review of death penalty case2023 football schedules released for Oklahoma State, OUOU offering free admission to Bedlam basketball for fans willing to safely brave winter weather