When Jennifer Kaufmann landed her first teaching job, she brought $30,000 in student loan debt with her. 

“Because of my pay, I was living paycheck to paycheck and had to defer my student loan payments for a while,” said Kaufmann, who now teaches science and social studies at Warren Online Academy in Indianapolis. 

Most of her $48,000 salary went to bills, with $200-$300 per month going to loan repayments. Due to a high interest rate, after four months of payments she still owed more than she had borrowed. It took a dozen years and help from her family to get back on track.

“I know people are leaving the profession due to low pay and high student loan debt,” Kaufmann said. “I’ve considered it. I love my job … but if my last five years before retirement are at this salary or [a job that pays] $30,000 more, it’s difficult not to consider it.”

Educator pay is one of the Legislature’s most charged topics. Across Indiana, salaries have increased in recent years, but teachers unions, lobbyists and lawmakers remain in constant discussion. 

As lawmakers prepare to set the state’s two-year budget in 2025, several Democratic politicians are pushing for a major pay bump meant to keep early-career teachers from losing interest. 

Democrats push for teacher raises

Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, plans to reintroduce a bill she proposed last year that would raise minimum teacher salaries to $60,000 across the state. Most districts adhere to a $40,000 minimum salary as outlined in state law. 

“I started it last year because of the number of teachers leaving the profession,” Klinker said. “That $40,000 is not making a difference at all. It is not enough to encourage them to stay.”

Klinker, a retired teacher, would like to see some of the state’s $2.9 billion budget surplus used to increase salaries. She said she will work with fellow House Ways and Means Committee members to try to rally support in the next session, which will see lawmakers set a new two-year budget. 

“We’re not going to be able to keep them if we don’t do something,” she said. 

A spokeswoman for the House Democratic Caucus told State Affairs that members are looking into teacher pay as a possible priority in 2025. 

Jennifer McCormick, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee and a former state superintendent of public instruction, called for a $60,000 minimum teacher salary as part of the education platform she revealed last month. 

“It’s time that we make sure that we’re treating teachers the way we need them to be treated — like the professionals they are,” McCormick said at a news conference. 

She called for tighter regulation of charter schools and institutions that enroll students via the state’s voucher program as a way of making up the salary increase cost. 

Teachers’ state of pay

About 40% of the state’s $22 billion budget for fiscal year 2024 was allocated to K-12 education tuition funding. The state mandates at least 62% of those funds be used to pay teachers. 

Indiana teachers made $58,531 on average in the 2022-23 school year, according to the most recent data available from the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. That was an increase of about $1,500 from 2021-22. 

The state ranked just ahead of Kentucky ($56,649) in average teacher pay, but it lagged well behind neighboring Ohio ($71,495) and Illinois ($73,861). 

Gov. Eric Holcomb said in 2022 he hoped to increase teacher pay to $60,000 by the time he leaves office in January. 

Indiana ranked 36th in the nation in teacher pay in 2022-23, according to the National Education Association. The average salary nationwide is $69,544. 

Unions weigh in

Keith Gambill, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said that although salaries have increased, they have not kept up with inflation. 

“We hear from teachers who’ve been teaching for five to 10 years who say it’s difficult to buy a house or start a family,” Gambill said. “It’s difficult to reach the things we take as natural life progression.” 

Gambill said a $60,000 salary minimum would help a lot — particularly for new teachers who are often saddled with student loan debt — but steps would also need to be taken to ensure wages don’t stagnate for veteran teachers.

During the 2024 legislative session, the union asked for an additional $500 million in state funding for teacher salaries — to no avail. It has not yet set its priorities for the upcoming budget session, but the subject of pay will likely  top the agenda again, Gambill said. 

“We also have to make sure we’re looking at once the dollars get to the district, they are getting into the pockets of staff,” Gambill said, adding that some districts are not giving raises at the same rate as others. 

Lori Young, president of the Evansville Teachers Association, who taught for 28 years, said teachers sometimes burn out from the amount of extra work they perform without additional pay. 

“People call me in tears saying they just can’t do it anymore because they’re taking home hours of work,” Young said. “Some of them have a family. It’s like we are living for our jobs, and that’s concerning.”

Teachers often need to purchase supplies and classroom materials out of their own pockets, Young added.
Higher pay would alleviate some of those issues, Young said, but it would need to come from significant state funding increases. 

“I don’t want to see any school corporations go broke,” Young said. 

Pay varies by location

Teacher pay within the state varies widely based on school district geography and size. 

The salary range for Indianapolis Public Schools teachers was $51,900-$94,000 in the 2023-24 school year. 

Adams Central Community Schools — a district of about 1,300 students in rural Adams County in northeast Indiana — paid $43,000-$70,650 during the same period. 

Most districts pay at least $40,000

In 2022, the state pushed for a $40,000 minimum salary for teachers. Districts that cannot meet this requirement must submit a written explanation to the Indiana Department of Education. 

Most have complied. 

The Education Employment Relations Board annually reviews the 304 collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teachers unions. Of the 173 such contracts that expired in June, only one district paid a minimum salary below $40,000.

The state made that change as part of a $1.9 billion K-12 funding increase passed in the 2021 budget session. 

Future unclear on debate

Whether teachers get a new salary floor or pay increase rests largely with Republican leadership in the Indiana General Assembly. 

Attempts to reach House Speaker Todd Huston for comment on Klinker’s legislation and teacher pay were unsuccessful. 

Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].

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