We agree with Governor Reynolds. Iowa’s education professionals are excellent. Every day, they prioritize their students over systems with creative and innovative approaches to engagement and learning. We can all also agree that our great teachers are the key to the remarkable student growth and success we are seeing despite more than a decade of inadequate funding that has not kept pace with the cost of living.
We are eager to learn more about the governor’s proposal to have school funding follow the public-school student. And we are understandably concerned about celebrating a charter school that has been open for less than one year and is not overseen by a locally elected school board. Iowans know and trust their local public schools, which are governed by neighbors who live in, pay taxes, and have a vested interest in their communities, unlike the founding group model of Cedar Rapids Prep.
We remain concerned that our public schools are getting shortchanged under the auspices of “choice. Prioritizing private school vouchers and unsustainable changes to local property taxes, combined with below minimum funding, rob Peter to pay Paul, and serve only a fraction of Iowa families. We need to approach changes through the lens that they benefit the many, not just the few.
The Iowa State Education Association Educator Bill of Rights offers a different path. It is a roadmap to success for students, schools, and communities across Iowa. Increasing school funding, codifying essential rights such as manageable workloads, fair and competitive compensation, and safe and supportive learning environments for every student, regardless of ZIP code, ensures that our schools retain the highly qualified experts our children deserve, placing students at the center of everything they do. Beyond sound public policy, well-funded public schools are a pipeline for Iowa businesses; they infuse millions of dollars into local economies through purchases of goods and services and attract families to move to our state. Strong public schools build strong communities. When we empower our students and the education professionals who serve them, we elevate all of Iowa.
Let’s bring education professionals to the table where important decisions about the direction of Iowa’s public schools are made. They are the experts in day-to-day operations and understand what their students need to flourish. Let’s work together on a roadmap to success for students, schools, and communities.”
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The Iowa State Education Association represents preK-12 educators, education support professionals, community college faculty, Area Education Agency professionals, retired educators, and aspiring educators with contracts covering more than 50,000 employees. We promote quality public education by placing students at the center of everything we do while advocating for education professionals.
