(SOUTH BEND) – Governor Eric J. Holcomb today announced the volunteer citizen members of the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission as a part of his effort to make teacher pay competitive with surrounding states.
The commission has been tasked with determining what constitutes competitive teacher compensation in Indiana and with providing recommendations for how to achieve it. The commission will deliver the recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly prior to the 2021 legislative session.
Commission Members
- Commission Chairman Michael L. Smith (Indianapolis), former chairman, president and CEO of Mayflower Group and former executive vice president and CFO of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Jená Bellezza (Gary), COO of Indiana Parenting Institute
- Tom Easterday (Zionsville), former senior executive vice president, secretary & chief legal officer for Subaru of Indiana Automotive
- Marianne Glick (Indianapolis), chair of the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Family Foundation and board member of the Gene B. Glick Company
- Bob Jones (Evansville), chairman and CEO of Old National Bancorp
- Katie Jenner (Madison), vice president of K-12 initiatives and statewide partnerships at Ivy Tech
- Nancy Jordan (Fort Wayne), senior vice president of Lincoln Financial Group
The commission will be supported by an advisory council that will provide further knowledge and expertise.
Advisory Council Members
- Melissa Ambre (Noblesville), director of the Office of School Finance for the Indiana Department of Education
- Lee Ann Kwiatkowski (Greenwood), senior education advisor to Gov. Holcomb
- Emily Holt (Arcadia), math teacher at Westfield High School
- Dan Holub (Indianapolis), executive director of the Indiana State Teachers Association
- Denise Seger (Granger), chief human resource officer for Concord Community Schools in Elkhart
- David Smith (Evansville), superintendent of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
In addition to creating the commission, Gov. Holcomb has proposed increasing K-12 funding by two percent in the first year of the state’s budget and then an additional 2 percent increase in the second year of the budget.
Gov. Holcomb also proposed paying off a pension liability that schools currently pay. This state investment will save all local schools an estimated $140 million over the next biennium with continued savings in the years following.
The commission will gather for an organizational meeting in the near future.
