INDIANAPOLIS — As teachers across the country continue to protest for more funding and higher salaries, one Indiana lawmaker is attempting to raise wages for full-time Indiana teachers.
State Rep. Ryan Hatflied introduced House Bill 1611, legislation that would raise the minimum salary for full-time teachers to $50,000 per year.
“We need good teachers in Indiana to improve our schools and prepare our students. To have good teachers, we need to pay them the wage they deserve,” Hatfield said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb also spoke about education legislation during his State of the State speech Tuesday, introducing a proposal that would increase K-12 educational funding.
"I'll bet everyone here had a teacher who had a profound impact on your life. I've had several," Holcomb said during his speech. "And one way to attract and retain more of those teachers is to make teacher pay more competitive."
Holcomb proposed that lawmakers appropriate $150 million from the more than $2 billion in state reserves to pay off a pension liability that local schools pay. According to Holcomb, the investment would save $140 million over the next two years — an amount that should be dedicated to increased teacher pay.
"I believe local school districts should allocate 100 percent of the $140 million to increasing teacher paychecks," Holcomb said.
Indiana was ranked 26th in the country in 2017 for average teaching salaries, according to the National Education Association. Teachers made on average $54,308 in 2017, with a starting average salary of $35,241.
Similarly, Kentucky was ranked 29th for average teaching salaries in 2017, with teachers making around $52,338 on average. For reference, New York was first in the country, with an average teacher salary at $81,902.
The bill would also eliminate textbook fees by requiring schools to provide materials free for parents. Our Indianapolis affiliate RTV6 reported that a bill that would create a fund to reimburse public schools for paying students' textbooks was introduced last year, but died in committee.
