During a legislative session in which teacher pay looms large, lawmakers recently shot down a proposal to raise the starting salary for Indiana teachers to $40,000.

One of the arguments cited in voting down the idea Thursday in the state House of Representatives was that most of Indiana's public schools were already reaching that minimum threshold.

An IndyStar analysis found otherwise.

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The IndyStar looked at the collective bargaining agreements made between teachers and Indiana’s 287 school districts and found that only 30 of them had a minimum salary of $40,000 or higher for their teachers. The vast majority of public schools and districts aren't there yet. All but one of those 30 were classified as an urban or suburban district.

Starting pay at small and rural districts tends to be even lower.

Last school year, the lowest-paid teachers in the state were making $30,000 a year, according to collective bargaining agreements.

In 82 districts the lowest-paid full-time teacher was making less than $35,000 a year.

Another 110 districts had minimum teacher salaries between $35,000 and $37,000.

Failed pay idea would have amended GOP-sponsored bill

Last week's failed proposal on starting pay was an amendment to House Bill 1003, which sets guidelines for how schools spend their money and encourages them to spend more on their teachers.

The bill, a priority for the Republican majority, stops short of actually requiring schools to change their spending. Instead, it seeks to raise teacher pay by publicly pressuring school districts into doing it.

Rep. Ed Delaney, a Democrat from Indianapolis who argued for the amendment, suggested instead that the state incentivize them to do so.

His proposal would have given a grant to school districts that pay all of their teachers at least $40,000. Districts that meet that threshold would receive a $100 grant per student from the state. With about 1 million public school students, the measure would have cost about $100 million by the time every school district was on board.

"The underlying purpose behind (House Bill) 1003 is that we direct more money into the classroom and hope that means more money for teacher pay," Delaney said. "This amendment is an imperfect but thoughtful approach to increasing teacher pay across the board."

Amendment was voted down along party lines

His amendment to add to the language was voted down on the House floor Thursday, 63-31, along party lines, with the House Republican majority lining up against it.

Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, argued that although the state wants to encourage school districts to spend more on their teachers, it shouldn't go so far as to set a base salary.

"Those decisions are not made best in Indianapolis, doggone it," he said. "They're made best in the local communities across the state who understand what their needs are."

Delaney's proposal, which he first tried to include in the bill during a committee hearing where it was also shot down on party lines, would not require any of these districts to raise their minimum salary to $40,000. But it would reward districts that are already paying their teachers well and encourage others to do so with the promise of more state money.

The state figures don't include benefits like health coverage and retirement packages and the collective bargaining data doesn't provide insight on how many teachers in each district are at the minimum pay level — the only factor addressed by Delaney’s amendment.

He predicted, though, that raising the minimum pay would put pressure on the district to boost pay for more experienced teachers.

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"We'd send a message to our citizenship, our students in the schools of education and our competing states that we're serious about public education," Delaney said.

Teacher pay is one of the biggest topics of discussion at the Statehouse this year. Like many states across the country, Indiana is suffering from a teacher shortage. More than 90 percent of public school superintendents in the state reported trouble filling positions in a recent survey.

Every state that touches Indiana pays teachers more

Teacher pay is thought to be one of the exacerbating factors, and a study out last month placed Indiana lower than all bordering states for what the average teacher makes.

The teacher pay proposals with the most support this year are the original premise of House Bill 1003, suggesting districts shift more of their existing resources toward teacher pay by cutting other expenses, and two other bills that would create limited, optional programs that could provide avenues for some teachers to earn more in exchange for taking on leadership roles within their buildings.

Those are House bills 1008 and 1009 – one creates career ladders for teachers, and the other a one-year residency for new teachers.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has also proposed spending $150 million in state reserves to pay off a portion of pension liabilities that districts have been paying. He is encouraging districts to put those savings toward teacher pay, but the savings will be realized unevenly. He is also backing a bill to increase the tax credit available for teachers who buy their own classroom supplies and is calling for a 2 percent bump in general education spending each of the next two years.

The governor and legislative leaders have said they hope these proposals will lead to wage increases for Indiana’s teachers – and some districts have said they plan to do just that – but any improvements will be mixed and are unlikely to move the needle on the larger issue of making Indiana a more attractive place to teach.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said last week that there was no data to back up the idea of a $40,000 minimum salary.

“It was just kind of off the cuff,” he said. “We try to give a little more thought to it.”

A panel will study teacher pay, but some want action now

The governor is establishing a commission to study the issue of teacher pay, with recommendations for action in the next budget cycle, two years from now. But educators say the issue is too pressing to wait.

The Indiana State Teachers Association said its member are looking for some action from lawmakers this year. They have a weekend rally in Indianapolis planned next month. Teresa Meredith, ISTA president, said recently that teachers are watching what lawmakers do this session before deciding on more aggressive action.

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at (317) 201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.