Rep. Pfaff: House Bill 1003 won’t increase teacher pay

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) issued the following statement after Indiana House Republicans passed House Bill 1003, a measure the majority claims would increase pay for Indiana teachers:

“I voted against House Bill 1003 because it won’t increase pay for Indiana’s teachers.

“Instead, it would take the decisions about how much money local school districts should budget for their education fund and operations fund and place it in the hands of legislators in Indianapolis.

“It would pave the way for school districts to do more with less to keep the lights on and the buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

“It would ask school corporations to choose between letting go of faculty and staff that work behind the scenes to keep our schools running or paying teachers more.

“To me, that is inexcusable. Why can’t we simply just pay our teachers more?

“We need to put the money in the state budget that will allow us to give teachers a pay raise, rather than messing around with ideas that could end up causing even more trouble for school districts.

“Raising teacher pay should be a priority for everyone in the Indiana General Assembly. House Bill 1003 is not the answer teachers and school districts are looking for.”