Gov. Eric Holcomb says he wants to raise teacher salaries in the long and the short term. Last week, Holcomb drew criticism after saying he may delay the issue until 2021.

“We’ve got to identify hundreds of millions of dollars and the means to get it into teacher paychecks,” Holcomb says, “It’s going to require a multi-budget effort and I’m committed to addressing the short-term and solving the long-term issue at hand.”

Holcomb says this will take years. In the short term, he’s calling for an increase in K-12 funding – schools could then use this funding to increase teacher pay.

Last week, education groups, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick and the Indiana State Teachers Association criticized Holcomb for directing lawmakers away from immediate action.

Earlier this week, ISTA President Teresa Meredith said Indiana teacher salaries aren’t competitive, and teachers are leaving the state and the profession.

“We’ve heard that legislators and the governor were ready to do something, and then we’ve heard they weren’t,” Meredith says. “But this issue can’t wait, we expect action in 2019.”

Holcomb said last week the issue needed additional research, and with a tight budget session, the teacher pay increase may need to wait until 2021.