Teacher Pay an Issue of Semantics Holcomb Promises $250M in 2021 Budget; Says 99% of Teachers Got Pay Boost in ‘19 by BRIAN A
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V25, N17 Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 Teacher pay an issue of semantics Holcomb promises $250M in 2021 budget; says 99% of teachers got pay boost in ‘19 By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – Wait ‘til next year? That was part of the reaction to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s fourth State of the State address Tuesday night when he announced he would use $250 mil- lion of the state’s $2.3 billion surplus to free up $55 million “to redirect” to teacher pay. Next year. Except the governor’s office produced data that 99% of teachers received an average pay bump of more than $1,200 this year, due to actions he took in 2019. Holcomb and Speaker Brian Bosma had hinted over the past week vember. The implied political threat was a fate similar to that the governor would address the 2012 election verdict on Republican Supt. Tony Ben- teacher pay during his statewide televised speech. The nett, who was upset by Democrat Glenda Ritz who rode reality is that Holcomb and GOP legislative leaders believe a wave of teacher support augmented by a Tahir Square- they’ve already delivered on the issue that roused 15,000 Continued on page 3 teachers to the Statehouse on Organization Day last No- Blind, dumb luck By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – Some politicians are just lucky. Take David McIntosh, for instance. The current Club For Growth chief decided to come back home to run for Con- gress in 1994, only to have U.S. Rep. Phil Sharp decide “Our efforts have yielded a trans- to retire and then frontrunner State Auditor Ann Devore for- formative deal that will bring gets to file. McIntosh was then swept benefits to both countries. Keep- into office with the Newt Gin- ing these two giant and powerful grich tsunami after reporting about $10,000 on his second nations together in harmony is so quarter FEC report. important for the world.’’ That’s blind, dumb luck. I think President Trump - President Trump, signing has this valuable commod- Phase I of his trade deal with ity. He runs for president in 2016 against 15 establishment China on Wednesday Page 2 Republicans, who didn’t know how mined when Defense Sec. Mark Esper to handle his insults and campaign pulled a Sgt. Schultz “I know noth- infomercials. He wins the nomination, ING” on “Face The Nation.” Over on then insults Sen. John McCain, Gold Fox News, Chris Wallace sensed the Star Mothers, has Billy Bush and the bovine scatology. “It does seem to Access Hollywood “Grab ‘em by the be a contradiction; he’s telling Laura Howey Politics Indiana pussy” audio tape blow up in his face, Ingraham [of imminent attacks] but WWWHowey Media, LLC then shows up at the next debate in a 75-minute classified briefing, c/o Business Office with his wife wearing a fuschsia pussy your top national security people PO Box 6553 bow. The real “October surprise” was never mentioned this to members of James Comey’s bombshell that he Congress, why not?” Wallace asked Kokomo, IN, 46904 reopened the file on “Crooked Hill- National Security advisor Robert C. www.howeypolitics.com ary”, when in reality it was the Trump O’Brien on “Fox News Sunday.” campaign under investigation. Once again, President Trump Brian A. Howey, Publisher Hillary ran a real stinker of a was caught in a fib. Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington campaign. When her blue wall col- By Monday, President Trump lapsed, Trump was stunned that he ended the mangled speculation. Mary Lou Howey, Editor won. He didn’t even have a victory This was a tactical decision with no Susan E. Joiner, Editor speech drafted. broader strategy. “It doesn’t really This dumb luck, thank good- matter,” Trump tweeted, “because of Subscriptions ness, appears to have extended into his horrible past.” the Trump presidency. But our president’s luck HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 “Little Rocket Man” has be- did not run out there as he cooed HPI Weekly, $350 come a pen pal. The Chinese either “all is well.” As the Iran Supreme Lisa Hounchell, Account Manager don’t know how to (765) 452-3936 telephone deal with him or they (765) 452-3973 fax do and we just don’t [email protected] know it, yet. And now Contact HPI there are the Iranian [email protected] ayatollahs. Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 President Trump stuns his Pen- Washington: 202.256.5822 tagon commanders Business Office: 765.452.3936 when he chooses the most severe option © 2020, Howey Politics when it comes to Iranian students refuse to walk on an American flag sidewalk Indiana. All rights reserved. revenge for the depiction following the shooting down of an airliner in Tehran December death of earlier this month,. Photocopying, Internet forward- a U.S. contractor ing, faxing or reproducing in any months after calling off a retaliatory Leader’s salty tears still glistened form, whole or part, is a violation strike 10 minutes before launch. With on Suleimani’s coffin, his henchmen of federal law without permission little forethought or long-range strat- rained missiles on U.S. forces in Iraq. from the publisher. egy, he orders the drone assassination And then they downed a Ukrainian of General Suleimani near the Bagh- airliner, killing 170 souls on board. dad Airport. A million Iranians fill the The mullahs and ayatol- Jack E. Howey streets with tears of grief, while the lahs, instead of taking it to the U.S. editor emeritus Iraqi parliament orders U.S. troops out infidels, were warding off massive 1926-2019 of this fragile nation-building fiasco of protests across the sanction-stricken a country. The war drums beat. nation. The Persians were in revolt. Meanwhile, Trump and his Trump’s 15,000th-and-some administration spend the next 10 days lie became a moot point. struggling with the narrative to justify Democrats and the punditry the attack. They finally settle on the were also on their heels, as Trump “imminent threat” Suleimani posed to suggested them to be defenders of four Middle Eastern U.S. embassies, Suleimani and terrorists. only to have that rationale under- What President Trump and Page 3 his supporters may want to keep ing the Mueller probe; it in mind is that dumb, blind luck took him less than a day doesn’t always veer in the same to repeat the process direction. with Ukraine President In June 2009, the Iranian Zelensky. The resulting resgime was under severe duress as impeachment and almost demonstrations broke out across the certain Senate acquittal is nation, fueled by persistent social setting up the president media. And then the unthinkable for a MAGA arena victory happened: Pop star Michael Jackson vindication lap. dies. Social media – hell, all media – dries up, and the The remaining Democratic presidential field looks Iranian revolt collapses. The insideous regime survives. like toy poodles compared to the honey badger Trumpubli- So there is no “boy cries wolf” lesson here. The cans. lies and knee-jerk reactions don’t matter to this president. Almost all the presidents before him had a foreign He didn’t learn the lessons of foreign intervention dur- policy crisis to deal with. President Trump has his luck. v failed our teachers and students. When adjusted for infla- Holcomb, from page 1 tion, average Indiana teacher salaries have dropped 15% styled social media campaign. since 2000 and a third of new Indiana teachers leave their Holcomb, who is sitting on a $7 million reelection jobs within five years.” war chest, appears to be confident in internal polling that And rogue Republican Supt. Jennifer McCormick shows his reelection to be on stable ground. said she was “disappointed” in the “delay” of teacher “I know a little about this. My mother was a pay hikes. “While I appreciate the governor including the teacher, and I saw how hard she worked,” Holcomb said teacher compensation crisis in the State of the State Ad- in a speech where the reaction often seemed to be on a dress, I am disappointed Indiana continues to delay neces- two-second time delay. “That’s why I created the Teacher sary action,” said McCormick, who had been rumored as Compensation Commission and asked them to come a potential ticket mate to State Sen. Eddie Melton until he up with a sustainable plan to make our teacher salaries pulled out of the gubernatorial race last week. “Insufficient competitive with other Midwestern states. Their report is school funding resulting in inadequate teacher compensa- due this spring, but we didn’t wait. Last year, we devoted tion impacts 1.1 million students, 78,000 Hoosier educa- an unprecedented increase of 763 million new dollars in tors, and the future of our great state. Students cannot K-12 education, including paying down $150 million in the afford to lose more great educators while Indiana decides Teacher Retirement Fund, which freed up $65 million more if we can afford them.” a year for teacher pay increases. All of our school corpora- But according to data from the Education Em- tions have finalized their locally bargained contracts and ployment Relations Board, 99% of school corporations more Indiana school districts have raised teacher salaries have raised teacher salaries this year, with about 60% of this year than in any other year in recent history.” those school corporations providing increases equal to or Holcomb continued, “Tonight, I am recommend- larger than their raises last year. The Fort Wayne Journal ing that in the next budget the General Assembly use an Gazette reported that last year’s average salary increase additional $250 million from our surplus and put it toward was $1,299.