Klinker, Campbell join Tippecanoe County teachers in speaking for better school funding, teacher pay

INDIANAPOLIS – Representatives Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette) and Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette) visited various Tippecanoe County Schools today to lend support to Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) efforts to increase funding for public schools and Hoosier teachers.

Their visit was part of a statewide effort to encourage lawmakers to increase the amount of money budgeted for public education and draw attention to a growing teacher shortage across the state. Those concerns are greater because the state budget proposal currently before the Indiana General Assembly (House Bill 1001) provides minimal increases in funding for public schools and does nothing to increase teacher pay now.

Klinker visited three school corporations, including West Lafayette School Corporation, Lafayette School Corporation, and Tippecanoe School Corporation. She visited West Lafayette Intermediate School at 7 a.m. with Superintendent Dr. Rocky Killion, Lafayette Sunnyside Intermediate School, Edgelea Elementary School, and McCutcheon High School.

“The voices of Indiana teachers deserve to be heard,” Klinker said. “I visited schools today to listen because the men and women who educate our children deserve more.”

Campbell visited West Lafayette High School and Cumberland Elementary School in the West Lafayette School Corporation.

“I have great concerns that the final state budget will not address the fears that drew teachers to this walk-in,” Campbell said. “I am worried that our schools will not get the levels of support they deserve and that teachers will be asked to continue to wait for the pay raise they deserve. We need to attract and retain talented teachers in our classrooms so that our children can succeed in the classroom.”