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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb claims he’s been “mischaracterized” when it comes to his plans for increasing teacher pay in the near future, yet he’s consistently failed to offer a clear picture of when salaries will increase for educators and by how much.

Holcomb ruled out spending any portion of Indiana’s approximately $1.8 billion budget reserve, saying it would be financially irresponsible to spend one-time money for the ongoing expense of higher teacher salaries.

Instead, the Governor insisted that state legislators and education stakeholders must work together over the next several years to “put together a framework and deliver some action steps that will significantly, significantly improve teacher pay.”

“This is going to require a multi-budget effort,” Holcomb said. “We’ve got to identify hundreds of millions of dollars and the means to get it into teacher paychecks.”

WIBC host Tony Katz: 

“A little bit trying to put out a fire is what Governor Holcomb is trying to do right now. I think the question is what is it that we consider the pay increase? Are we talking about one that makes sense or are we talking about one that’s going to make people feel good?”

Click the link below to hear Tony’s full commentary: