When I posted a story on this blog a week ago about how the reported Indiana teacher shortage is being felt in Fishers, I received plenty of feedback.  A few days later another of my commentaries appeared in Current in Fishers, this one about how the local school corporation got to the point of likely asking taxpayers for more money in a referendum next year.

I want to address some of the comments I received from both of those pieces.  I want to thank all those making comment.  Most were well thought out and appreciated.

The first comment I received came from Bill Brown, a former city council candidate and a long-time school bus driver for HSE Schools.  Bill pointed out that low pay raises and a hit on the health care benefit wasn’t just felt by teachers, but all HSE School employees.  I agree, Bill.  My piece here on the blog a week ago was centered on teachers so I only addressed that part.  But Bill is right that bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians and other school system employees felt the same pain as the teaching staff.  The Hamilton Southeastern School System is the second largest employer in Fishers (roughly 800 employees), with only Navient claiming a larger work force (1,700 workers).

Anna Stumpf posted a lengthy comment (says she cut it down from the original 3 pages). She contends that we shouldn’t focus so much on pay and instead talk to the teachers about what they want and need to improve the educational experience.  I cannot disagree with much of what Ms. Stumpf wrote.  I tried to point out in my piece that pay isn’t everything but it is an important component in keeping and retaining a top notch teaching staff.  I thank her for her thoughtful views on the subject.

In response to my Current commentary, Dee Brown asks why Fishers couldn’t take money from the downtown projects on the municipal complex and use it for the schools.  I have written extensively about the downtown projects, which are getting out to a good start but it will be a long term evaluation on their success.  The problem here is state law.  The City of Fishers cannot legally give money to the school system.  The city is building those downtown projects.  The city and Fall Creek Township did buy some land from the school system to ease HSE’s budget problems but that was a sale at fair market value.  Bottom line, the city couldn’t redirect funds (legally) from the downtown projects to the school system directly.  There were also some other comments but I am not able to decipher the points being made or I would have a response.

When I post a story on this blog, I never know how it will be received.  My post a week ago about Fishers and the teacher shortage created lots of interest and I thank the many people who took the time to read it.