Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Thursday, March 5, 2015
(STATEHOUSE) - A first piece of Governor Pence’s education agenda could get a first Senate committee vote next week.
Pence has proposed giving teachers a 200-dollar tax credit against whatever they spend to buy their own supplies. It's a rare point of agreement between the Republican governor and Democratic state school superintendent Glenda Ritz.
Ritz adviser John F. Barnes notes he was a social studies teacher before becoming Ritz's legislative liaison -- he says he easily spent more than the maximum credit every year to equip his classes.
Indiana's two big teachers' unions also support the bill.
Legislative analysts predict about 60,000 teachers are likely to claim the credit, for a total of about 13-million dollars. That cost means the bill will have to survive a second committee vote before going to the full Senate. The House unanimously approved the credit last month.
House Republicans say in addition to reimbursing teachers for self-funding their classrooms, the bill is a small step toward steering more dollars directly to the classroom.
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