Iowa families will continue to have easy access to high-quality, free preschools for four-year-olds. Governor Branstad has announced he now supports the popular statewide preschool initiative that has made Iowa the envy of the nation in recent years.
This victory was won by grassroots Iowans. During the 2011 session, thousands wrote to legislators and the Governor in support of high-quality early childhood education. Last month, when experts at the Iowa Education Summit complimented Iowa’s preschool program, they were answered with thunderous applause from 1,700 educators, parents, grandparents and students who came to represent their communities.
It looked like Iowa preschools were on the chopping block when the 2011 legislative session began. First, House Republicans voted to completely eliminate preschool for four-year olds. Then, Governor Branstad proposed a complicated voucher system that would have cut funding by half, while doubling administrative costs.
I refused to give up the fight. We had visited preschools, talked with parents and teachers, and knew the program worked. More than 60 percent of our kids now have access to high-quality preschool, compared to just 19 percent before the program started. Today, 22,000 Iowa children are getting their education off to a great start in preschools at public school, private schools and churches all across the state.
The Governor finally heard what we’ve been saying all along: “Don’t abandon Iowa’s future!” By working together, we took one more step in our efforts to make Iowa an ever-better place to live, work and raise a family.
Fight for education pays off
I fought hard for our local students and schools this year in the Legislature. I joined Iowans from across the state who spoke out against deep cuts to education at all levels, cuts that would limit the future of the next generation and of Iowa’s economy.
Educating our young people and helping workers improve their skills are smart investments in Iowa’s future. As we dig our way out of the lingering national recession, slashing education just didn’t make sense.
Fortunately, Iowans made their voices heard. That’s why, in the end, our students and schools fared much better than initially expected.
We reached a bipartisan compromise (SF 533) to maintain Iowa’s successful voluntary preschool initiative. The Legislature finally acknowledged that closing preschools would only hurt middle-class families already struggling in today’s tough economy.
A two-year starvation diet for our schools—no new money for K-12 for two years in a row—was rejected. We won a 2 percent increase in basic state aid for local schools for next year. That should help ease the damage our local schools may suffer from NO new state money this year, something that has never happened before.
We maintained our commitment to increasing student achievement through the Iowa Core Curriculum, which provides all Iowa children with high-quality educational opportunities. It is strongly supported by Iowa’s local school officials, parents and teachers.
The cuts to our nationally-recognized community colleges were reversed, making it possible for Iowa workers get the training they need to fill skilled-job openings at local businesses (HF 645 and HF 648).
We also resisted efforts to eliminate Iowa’s Area Education Associations (AEAs), which help special needs students and provide services to improve teaching and student achievement.
Finally, the Legislature voted to increase accountability and transparency for your tax dollars. HF 645 would have required education-related, taxpayer-funded organizations (like the Iowa Association of School Boards) to comply with open meetings and open records laws, and to be subject to regular audits and whistleblower protections. In addition, school districts would need to show taxpayers how much they spend on services through these organizations. Unfortunately, Governor Branstad vetoed this important taxpayer protection.
In the end, the fight for education paid off. We weren’t able to do as much as we’d hoped for our students and schools, but we did take big steps forward from initial demands to sharply cut funding for community colleges, eliminate universal preschool, and impose two years of no new state dollars for local schools.
Going ‘Back to School’ with students and teachers
Getting young people involved in civics and democracy is one of my favorite parts of being a state senator. That’s why I’ll be joining our local students and teachers in their classrooms this school year.
The “America’s Legislators Back to School Program” brings state legislators into classrooms to meet personally with young constituents, answer questions, share ideas and listen to concerns. The goal is to give students—the nation’s future leaders—a firsthand look at how representative democracy works, and to let them know that their ideas count.
This year, more than 1,300 state lawmakers will visit with an estimated 320,000 students in schools across the country. The Back to School Program is sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Trust for Representative Democracy.
I’m setting up my fall visits now. If you’d like me to come to your school, please give me a call or send me an e-mail.
Iowans offer ideas for improving students achievement
Education is one of our most important investments because it’s about our children and our future. I could tell that Iowans agree with that statement when they came out in force for the Iowa Education Summit recently.
The event was well attended by parents, educators, representatives of Iowa’s business community and lawmakers. Everyone was eager to share their ideas for improving on the tradition of educational excellence for which our state is known.
One theme that came up over and over was the importance of preschool in preparing youngsters for success in school and in life. I’m committed to maintaining and investing in the high-quality preschool program we’ve developed here in Iowa in recent years so that every family can enjoy a great start for their kids.
Collaboration and cooperation were also emphasized at the Education Summit. As Iowans, we may have differences on some issues, but ultimately we all share the same goal: a world-class education for our children. If public policy-makers, the governor, business and industry, educators and parents work together, we can achieve great things for our students and for our future.
A new 40-person STEM Advisory Council will provide one of those opportunities for working together. The Council will offer input on ways to promote greater student achievement and career opportunities by strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education in Iowa schools. To find out more about the STEM Advisory Council, go here:
I’m excited about continuing to build on the solid foundation our schools offer. We have good local schools and some of the best educators in the country. But there is always room to improve. We need to support our educators with quality training and leadership opportunities, and to ensure all Iowa students are ready to succeed in the global economy.
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