Teacher Pay Commission Aims To Raise Indiana Average To $60,000
By Taylor WootenÂ
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission determined that $600 million per year will be needed to increase teacher pay in Indiana to a competitive average salary, around $60,000 a year.
The commission was created by Holcomb in 2019 and faced criticism for meeting behind closed doors and for not having any members who are teachers, except for one on an advisory council. The commission did conduct a three-stop educator listening tour and received input from more than 1,000 Hoosiers on its website.
Commission Chair Michael Smith described the group’s findings at a press conference Monday morning. The commission recommended state government and local school corporations consider reallocating expenses, increasing sources of revenue and improving policies around teacher compensation.
“It will take both revenue increases and cost reductions and reallocations…It’s not a quid pro quo,†Smith said.
The recommendations from the commission are not binding and require action from the legislature and school districts.
The research from the commission put Indiana ninth in the Midwest for teacher pay with an average of $51,119 a year. The jump to $60,000 would move the state up to third in the region. Indiana is currently ranked 38th out of the 50 states in teacher pay for 2018-2019, according to the report.
The 183-page report contains 37 recommendations and lists five top policies that could yield $255 million to give teachers a raise. It recommends, for one, that school corporations limit how educators’ spouses participate in healthcare plans if they have access to healthcare through their own employer.
The report also said lawmakers should follow through on Holcomb’s proposal to use $250 million to pay down debt in the pre-1996 teacher retirement fund, which would result in $50 million in annual savings.
Households earning more than $150,000 should be exempt from the tax credit for using Indiana’s CollegeChoice 529 plan, which helps families save money for college.
A large burden is put on school corporations to cut costs and find new sources of revenue, with the report asking schools to have referendums to increase local taxes and put them towards teacher pay.
“If districts who include 10% more of our 1 million students were to pass similar referenda at similar per-pupil rates of contribution to school funding, we would derive another $80 million to be redirected to teacher pay,†Smith said.
COMMISSION MEMBERS:
- Commission Chairman Michael L. Smith (Indianapolis), former chairman, president and CEO of Mayflower Group and former executive vice president and CFO of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Melissa Ambre (Noblesville), director of the Office of School Finance for the Indiana Department of Education
- Jená Bellezza (Gary), COO of Indiana Parenting Institute
- Tom Easterday (Zionsville), former senior executive vice president, secretary & chief legal officer for Subaru of Indiana Automotive
- Rebecca Gardenour (New Albany), member of the New Albany-Floyd County Board of School Trustees and member of the Indiana School Boards Association
- Emily Holt (Arcadia), a math teacher at Westfield High School
- Dan Holub (Indianapolis), executive director of the Indiana State Teachers Association
- Katie Jenner (Madison), senior education advisor to Gov. Holcomb
- Bob Jones (Evansville), retired chairman and CEO of Old National Bancorp
- Nancy Jordan (Fort Wayne), former senior vice president of Lincoln Financial Group
- Lee Ann Kwiatkowski (Muncie), director of public education and CEO of Muncie Community Schools
- Denise Seger (Granger), chief human resource officer for Concord Community Schools in Elkhart
- David Smith (Evansville), Superintendent of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
- Outgoing Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said in a statement schools will need government support to implement higher teacher pay, because many of the action items listed for schools are currently in place.
“Most schools can take pride in realizing many of the recommendations in the report have already been considered and implemented,†McCormick said. “As we enter the 2021 Indiana General Assembly legislative session, Hoosier educators look forward to the additional state funding and state-level policy actions necessary in order for teacher compensation to truly move forward.â€
Smith said before taking media questions at Monday’s press conference that the cost-cutting measures wouldn’t all be widely received.
“We fully realize that not everyone will like every one of our recommendations,†he said.
The report aims to set a minimum starting salary of $35,000 by the 2021-2022 school year and increasing that wage to $40,000 the following year. In 2019, teachers in small rural districts made a starting salary of $30,000.
Indiana House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, showed concern about the spending cuts proposed in the report, including the recommendation to limit healthcare benefits to spouses.
“I do not feel it is the time to start eliminating benefits from teachers and their families when many districts are struggling to recruit and retain qualified teachers,†GiaQuinta said. “I also do not agree that shifting the burden of school funding from the state to local levels through referenda is the best move we can make to get teachers, students and staff what they need now.â€
Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, chair of the House Education Committee, said he will consider the recommendations as the lawmakers work to strengthen support for Hoosier teachers.
FOOTNOTE: Taylor Wooten is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
