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Gov. Holcomb: Teacher pay a top priority in 2020

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb sat down to talk legislative priorities as the new year approaches

INDIANA, USA — Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb says he saw the recent teacher rallies in Kentucky and, “Their voice is heard. I agree with them.”

2020 will not only be a new legislative year for the Hoosier Republican, but it’s also an election year. Some of the issues he expects to get a lot of attention will be drawing new businesses to Indiana and focusing on education funding and, in particular, educator compensation.

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“When we unveiled our Next Level Agenda, both administrative and legislative agenda, we talked about how we wanted to become a state where we were in the top three in terms of our teacher compensation in our neighborhood, meaning, 10 to 11 states, Midwest," Gov. Holcomb said.

When asked for specifics on “compensation," Gov. Holcomb said he was talking about “salary” although there is an overall compensation package that is important to be aware of for Hoosier teachers.

Two goals are to attract educators to Indiana with better compensation and bridging gaps between teacher pay that may be significantly more or less depending upon geographic location.

He said that state revenue is up, which helps pay for increases but there will be a push to increase revenue with new companies moving to Indiana and new workers. But one industry he isn’t pushing for is the marijuana industry.

Gov. Holcomb wants to see Purdue University and IU study the topic, and for it to be removed from the federally controlled substance list before he would consider legalizing medical marijuana or recreational marijuana.

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