Two items in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s 2019 State of the State Address will and should get the most headlines. They also deserve to get the most praise.
They are Holcomb’s strategy for raising teacher pay and his continued support for passage of hate crimes legislation.
The case for increasing teacher pay comes primarily from statistics from the National Education Association. Indiana’s teacher pay lagged the nation by more than 10 percent — $59,660 to just over $54,000 — in the NEA report, Rankings of the States 2017 and Estimates of School Statistics 2018. The Indiana average was in the lower half of the nation, at No. 26, while starting teacher pay was at No. 36.
A relevant point in that report is that Hoosier teachers have lost 4.5 percent in constant dollars — income after adjustment for inflation — over the last 10 years. That’s not a good recruitment statement.
Holcomb came up with a way to boost teacher pay without tapping into the state’s precious flow of revenues. He said he wants legislators to move $150 million from more than $2 billion the state has in reserves to pay pension liabilities, taking that burden off school corporations. That would free up money to be spread across the state’s school districts that if spent evenly and invested totally in teachers, would mean pay raises of just over $1,000 for all.
Raising teacher pay would show Indiana takes seriously the cliché that our kids are our future. Teachers still would not be getting wealthy, but higher salaries would help attract and retain the best and the brightest in the teaching profession. That would be a wise investment in our kids and our future.
Holcomb also stressed his desire that legislators pass a law making a clear statement that Indiana will not tolerate criminal attacks on people based on bias. He said he wants the new law to reflect “what’s already in my administration’s employment policy.” That policy bans discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, or veteran status.
That’s the specificity such a law needs.
“Businesses interested in Indiana care about this issue, but it’s not just about business,” the governor said. “At heart, this has to do with people’s dignity and how we treat one another.
“Standing strong against targeted violence motivated to instill fear against an entire group is the right thing to do. So let’s strengthen our state laws by ensuring judges can sentence more severely when a group is targeted, even though there may be only one actual victim.”
Simply put: Indiana should be one of 46 states with a bias-crime law, not one of five without one.
The governor also deserves praise for continuing his pledges to address the issues of the drug epidemic, infant mortality, child welfare, workforce development and school safety.
Holcomb presented a strong and realistic vision for the state. The legislature should work with him to implement it.