McCormick unveils Indiana education platform

(The Center Square) – Indiana’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate unveiled her education plan, which included expanding pre-kindergarten programs, increasing teacher pay, allowing educator unions to bargain and upholding private schools to the same standards as public ones.

Those were among the points outlined by Jennifer McCormick in a release Thursday. McCormick was the last elected state Superintendent of Education. She won that race eight years ago as a Republican but changed parties in 2021 after she finished her term. In a statement, she said she knows what Indiana families need from schools and that politicians should not interfere in the classroom.

“Respecting, empowering, and paying our educators to ensure academic freedom, holding all schools accountable, working with parents and our communities, and focusing on what is best for kids is prioritizing, not politicizing, education,” she said.

Along with Terry Goodin, her lieutenant governor nominee and a former educator and state representative, McCormick called the ticket’s plan a commonsense approach that wants to ensure Indiana’s youngest kids get off to the best start possible. Doing that would include identifying solutions to expand affordable childcare to ensure more families have access to quality programs and working to make pre-K programs universal across the state.

The plan also calls for Hoosier teachers to earn a minimum of $60,000 and pay more experienced teachers a wage competitive with other professionals. That would be a significant upgrade from the current pay scale. According to the National Education Association, the average salary for in-state educators was $57,015 during the 2022-23 school year. That ranked 36th nationally and was 18% below the national average of $69,544.

McCormick also wants teachers to be able to have unions negotiate for better wages and benefits. She said her administration would also review mandates that had been placed on teachers and school boards, striking down those that interfere with education or aren’t needed.

“Our goal is an education system with professional teachers and accountable schools that sets students up for success, whether that means going to college, entering the skilled workforce, or joining the military,” she added.

Indiana also has one of the more robust school choice programs in the country, with lawmakers having expanded access to nearly all families across the state. The McCormick-Goodin plan does not look to reduce that. However, McCormick said she wants to ensure the private schools are providing a curriculum on par with public schools.

“At a time when 90% of our students attend public schools, Indiana has sent over $1.6 billion away from public schools and to private schools in the form of vouchers,” she added. “It’s common sense to ensure these schools are held accountable to the same academic and fiscal standards as public schools.”

McCormick will face U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, the Republican candidate, in the Nov. 5 election. Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater will also appear on the ballot.