$42 bonus was an 'insult.' So these Indy teachers made the best of it. [View all]

Some of Wayne Township's best teachers have decided not to accept their $42 bonuses from the state, saying the paltry check discourages teaching in disadvantaged districts and shows lawmakers don't value teachers in urban districts as much as those in wealthier ones.

Compared to the $2,422 bonus that Carmel's best teachers will receive, the $42 bonus felt like an insult to the work that they do, the teachers said, and an insult to the more impoverished community they serve.

Instead, more than 40 teachers will donate their bonuses to the Wayne Township Education Foundation, "an organization," they said, "that still believes and invests in our students, teachers, and community."

"It is not encouraging to know our legislators feel that our work is worth such a small amount of money," the teachers wrote in a statement posted online and circulated on social media Wednesday. "We serve in a community greatly affected by poverty and hardship, and we show up every day and we serve every student that walks through our doors. An effective teacher in our school is worth just as much as an effective teacher in any other. And one test over only a few subjects, which the State of Indiana and the Department of Education continues to mismanage year after year, should not determine the effectiveness and worth of all of our teachers."

Read more: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2016/12/21/42-bonus-insult-so-these-indy-teachers-made-best/95707762/