Public school teachers and some state employees could get a pay raise this year under legislation approved in a legislative committee Monday.

The teacher pay bill is endorsed by House leadership as a way to kick-start a three-year plan to raise educators' base pay by $6,000. In the first year, teachers would get $1,000 of that amount.

State Rep. Michael Rogers, R-Broken Arrow, said the likelihood of passing a raise is higher this year than last year. Even though the state is facing a budget shortfall approaching $1 billion, Rogers said he expects that lawmakers will find a way to pay for the first-year costs of about $52 million.

“At the end of the day, we can build this into our budget and we can pass it,” said Rogers, author of House Bill 1114.