Commission Offers Recommendations on Teacher Pay
(Dated: Jan. 2020) A Gary school teacher leads her class in this photo taken before the pandemic. (photo courtesy: Gary Schools Facebook page)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNearly two years after Governor Eric Holcomb called for a special commission to evaluate teacher pay in Indiana, the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission has released its report detailing recommendations.
The commission says the current statewide average pay for public school teachers is $53,000 per year, the ninth-lowest among 12 Midwest states. The panel has targeted $60,000 for average pay, which would rank Indiana third among neighboring states.
According to the National Education Association, Indiana ranks 38th for average teacher salaries out of the 50 states.
“So, there’s a sizable gap between what Indiana teachers are currently being paid and what we have deemed to be a target for competitive pay,” said Commission Chairman Michael Smith.
The report includes 37 recommendations for local school corporations and state government that could improve teacher compensation through expense reallocation, additional revenues or policy changes.
“The commission also found that closing this pay gap will require both state government and local school corporations to act. And our report was completely focused on identifying ways to help both parties,” said Smith.
Among the three dozen recommendations, several pertained to healthcare, such as pharmacy costs and health plans.
“We believe that our health plans could be redesigned statewide, to establish an obligation for spouses of teachers who have access and are eligible to participate in health plans at their employers, to participate not in the teacher health plan, but in their own health plan. That realignment of participation could yield $50 million of savings that could be redirected to teacher compensation,” explained Smith.
During his 2019 State of the State Address, Governor Holcomb tasked the 13-member commission with providing proposals prior to the 2021 legislative session.
“I am grateful to the commission for its dedication to developing these recommendations,” said Holcomb. “The options offer a base for continuing these important conversations about making compensation for our hard-working teachers more competitive.”
The commission received feedback from more than 1,000 teachers and citizens through online surveys and community forums. Additionally, the commission worked with school and district administrators, leaders of state education-related associations and many others.
“The recommendations in this report are not collectively a silver bullet. Teacher compensation is a very complex process and there is no easy or one-size-fits-all solution,” said Smith.
Smith says it is difficult for the state to attract and retain quality teachers without fair compensation, but to get there, changes will need to be made.
“This commission’s goal was to provide both state government and local school corporations with a full menu of options, recognizing that circumstances vary widely from one local school corporation to another, and what applies to one district might not apply to another district.”
To view the full report and read the recommendations, click here.
Commission Chair Michael Smith explained four areas where expenses could be cut, creating additional money for teacher pay.