The letter from the Kosciusko Country Democrats (KCD) had several items that need a reply. Will try to cover just a couple of their points.
KCD stated “... rainy day fund as he calls a surplus of tax dollars that has been hoarded for years is supposed to be used. Taxpayers count on it to fix roads, equip and employ our first responders, and educate our children.” Apparently, KCD does not understand how a rainy day fund is to be used. Every two years we do something called budgeting. Our budget pays for roads, hiring first responders and educating our children. If an emergency situation pops up, we use money from the Rainy Day fund. Apparently, KCD wants us to spend everything like Illinois, who has $58,000 in reserve which will fund their budget for 13 seconds. Illinois does not pay their bills, gives IOUs to their lottery winners, and withholds millions from their colleges and universities, and then raises multiple taxes to try to get on its feet. Is that what KCD wants?
Indiana’s $2B rainy day fund will fund our government for about 51 days if we have an emergency. Even KCD agrees that we have an emergency.
The purpose of my letter was to show the foolishness of spending those emergency funds on a one-time payment to increase teacher pay. At no time in that letter did I insinuate that education policy was by one party. The one-party comment was specifically referring to the repeated attempts by KCD’s representatives to raid the rainy day fund for a one-time teacher pay increase.
Several good bipartisan education bills passed this session. HB 1003 was one of those, but the amendments KCD cited on roll call 65 and 66 that failed had nothing to do with teacher pay. My letter was referring to several attempts such as amendment #6 to HB1007 in committee. That amendment would have taken the $291M the governor intends to use to pay off the $291M of university buildings that were bonded. Using the money to pay off those mortgages would save Indiana $137M interest over the long haul that could be used to increase teacher pay. The current leadership in Indiana is looking for ways to sustain any increase not just a one and done event. Using that $291M for a one-time increase would be similar to that great old story of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
“You are a former educator, Mr. Wolkins; we are shocked you would speak so poorly of paying teachers what they earn.” I am a retired teacher. Never, I repeat never, have I said or insinuated that teachers do not deserve more money. Recently, in another letter I stepped on a number of toes to suggest that teachers should have done better in their last negotiation. I stated that school corporations receive about $250,000 for each class of 25 students ($10,090 average per student for total of state, local and federal dollars) and that there is no reason a starting teacher should only receive $35-36,000. I suggest KCD talk to the folks that set teacher pay.
Finally, “Mr. Wolkins is more interested in sticking it to teachers and educators.” Not really worth of a response but I’d only say that is typical of the D’s and one of their biggest financial backers, the ISTA, which uses that mantra to anger teachers and thus gain money and votes against the R’s. Teacher pay will be increased, but we will have a way to pay for it. Spending the surplus for a one-time benefit would have been a very foolish thing to do.
