This editorial was originally published Friday in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star.
A talented young teacher, energized to build a career in the classroom, should not have to scrap those dreams because the salary is too lean to raise a family, or pay for the rent, a car payment and food.
Students in Hoosier schools such as West Vigo High School, Otter Creek Middle School and Fuqua Elementary School benefit if those gifted teachers stay in the profession.
Communities like Terre Haute, Brazil, Sullivan, Clinton and Rockville benefit, too. Kids there get a better education. Businesses and new residents are more likely to move in. Properly funded public schools and teachers serve as the economic foundation of their towns.
Indiana is struggling to retain its teachers, a problem that thwarts the idea of vibrant local schools as a community’s cornerstone.
The Indiana General Assembly finally took meaningful steps this week to reverse teacher shortages in the state’s public schools. Legislators approved a budget — loosened up by the infusion of $3 billion in COVID-19 relief from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan — that provides the $600 million annual allotment for teacher pay increases recommended last year in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission.
The funding improves the possibility of Indiana reaching Holcomb’s goal of a $60,000 average salary and $40,000 minimum salary for Hoosier teachers, and a ranking among the top three states in the Midwest in teacher compensation. Indiana currently ranks ninth in the Midwest and 38th nationally. Its increase in teacher pay from 2002 to 2019 ranked lowest in America.
Holcomb’s commission also recommended the state fund the $600,000 annual boost. The influx of federal funds for a variety of uses nudged legislators to include the teacher-pay resources that previously were not in the budget.
With that long-overdue action, the Legislature’s Republican leaders issued pointed recommendations that school districts set starting salaries for new teachers at a $40,000 minimum. The budget also requires local districts to dedicate at least 45% of their state tuition support dollars to teacher pay. (Vigo County already commits 55.4% of its state tuition support to teacher pay.)
“We’ll be watching (school districts) closely,” warned Republican House Speaker Todd Hutson.
Of course, his party also included a generous expansion of the state’s already overly large public-funded voucher program for private and charter schools that are not as “closely” watched as public school systems.
Indiana is struggling to retain its public school teachers. Eighty-seven percent of Indiana public school districts reported teacher shortages last October as the 2020-21 school year was beginning. That was actually a slight improvement over the previous year, when 92% of the districts faced shortages.
The low starting pay and the uncertainty of future salary growth has driven good teachers to leave the field, and education majors at state colleges to opt for other careers. The chaos and risks of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed more teachers to retire or switch occupations. One survey of teachers earlier this school year showed that 71% have considered retiring early or jumping to a new profession because of the heavier workload.
Teacher shortages are a problem nationwide, but Indiana schools feel it more deeply. Thirteen percent of Hoosier teachers left their profession in 2018, compared to 8% nationally.
Vigo County voters already made a commitment to improve teacher pay by approving a 2019 referendum for operational funding that led to a rise in starting local teacher salaries from $35,000 to $38,000.
Republican leadership in the General Assembly, at last, joined the cause this week. The state budget they approved marks a significant step toward stemming the exodus of teachers. The investment will show results in the classrooms of Hoosier communities and teachers’ households.
This commitment must continue.
