Last year, public schools were punching bags for Gov. Kim Reynolds. Teachers were liberal indoctrinators, putting porn in school libraries and keeping secrets about transgender kids from parents.
This year, the governor wants to give teachers a raise. Sorry about the whiplash. If you stuck with teaching during the “sinister agenda” era, here’s your reward. You’re welcome.
And don’t you dare spend the money organizing a drag show.
During her Condition of the State speech Tuesday evening, Reynolds called for boosting starting teacher pay to $50,000 and set a minimum salary for teachers with 12 years or more experience at $62,000. Her plan would cost $96 million, along with $10 million in merit-based grants to teacher.
“These investments will put Iowa in the top five states for starting pay and help recruit more of the best and brightest to join the teaching profession,” Reynolds said.
Chase teachers away with right-wing policy. But surely money will solve the problem. Hey, it’s better than nothing.
But Area Education Agencies, which provide an array of services to public and private schools, will take it on the chin if the governor has her way.
AEAs currently provide special education services, using funding from school districts. They also provide technology assistance, professional development, student assessments and mental health resources. This is particularly valuable help in rural districts.
Under the governor’s plan, AEAs would drop all services except providing special education resources. And schools would no longer be required to fund the agencies. District administrators could use the money as they see fit. Also, AEAs would no longer be managed locally and would, instead, be managed by a new $20 million bureaucracy in the Department of Education.
Sign up for Pints & Politics
“… AEAs have grown well beyond their core mission of helping students with disabilities, creating top heavy organizations with high administrative expenses,” Reynolds said, pointing to the fact students with disabilities are performing below average on national assessments.
It’s tough, for now, to discern Reynolds’ deeper motivations. AEAs do provide special education help to accredited private schools. One criticism of the governor’s publicly funded private school scholarships is many private schools don’t offer special ed. Seems like there might be a connection.
Spending on Education Savings Accounts, aka private school vouchers, will jump from $127.9 million this fiscal year to $179.2 million in FY 2025, according to the governor’s budget.
Speaking of the budget, the governor wants to go “further faster” on tax cuts.
Reynolds wants to accelerate toward a flat income tax rate of 3.65% this year and 3.5% next year, saving taxpayers $3.8 billion over the next five years.
To help cover the budgetary hole left by more tax cuts, the governor spends nearly $1 billion less in her 2025 budget than allowed under state law. The projected surplus this year of $2,1 billion will grow to more than $3 billion. Those socked away bucks will grow the Taxpayer Relief Fund to just north of $3.8 billion. Free tax cuts!
But education and many priority areas that will continue facing a budgetary squeeze, from public education and state universities to mental health and environmental protection.
The lesson here, kids, is wealthy taxpayers can spend the money better than your school. Have you made a gift to Reynolds’ campaign? Do you even have an airplane to loan the governor? Didn’t think so.
www.thegazette.com
This year, the governor wants to give teachers a raise. Sorry about the whiplash. If you stuck with teaching during the “sinister agenda” era, here’s your reward. You’re welcome.
And don’t you dare spend the money organizing a drag show.
During her Condition of the State speech Tuesday evening, Reynolds called for boosting starting teacher pay to $50,000 and set a minimum salary for teachers with 12 years or more experience at $62,000. Her plan would cost $96 million, along with $10 million in merit-based grants to teacher.
“These investments will put Iowa in the top five states for starting pay and help recruit more of the best and brightest to join the teaching profession,” Reynolds said.
Chase teachers away with right-wing policy. But surely money will solve the problem. Hey, it’s better than nothing.
But Area Education Agencies, which provide an array of services to public and private schools, will take it on the chin if the governor has her way.
AEAs currently provide special education services, using funding from school districts. They also provide technology assistance, professional development, student assessments and mental health resources. This is particularly valuable help in rural districts.
Under the governor’s plan, AEAs would drop all services except providing special education resources. And schools would no longer be required to fund the agencies. District administrators could use the money as they see fit. Also, AEAs would no longer be managed locally and would, instead, be managed by a new $20 million bureaucracy in the Department of Education.
Sign up for Pints & Politics
Sign up for a periodic, lighthearted look at Iowa political news from The Gazette's opinion desk.
“… AEAs have grown well beyond their core mission of helping students with disabilities, creating top heavy organizations with high administrative expenses,” Reynolds said, pointing to the fact students with disabilities are performing below average on national assessments.
It’s tough, for now, to discern Reynolds’ deeper motivations. AEAs do provide special education help to accredited private schools. One criticism of the governor’s publicly funded private school scholarships is many private schools don’t offer special ed. Seems like there might be a connection.
Spending on Education Savings Accounts, aka private school vouchers, will jump from $127.9 million this fiscal year to $179.2 million in FY 2025, according to the governor’s budget.
Speaking of the budget, the governor wants to go “further faster” on tax cuts.
Reynolds wants to accelerate toward a flat income tax rate of 3.65% this year and 3.5% next year, saving taxpayers $3.8 billion over the next five years.
To help cover the budgetary hole left by more tax cuts, the governor spends nearly $1 billion less in her 2025 budget than allowed under state law. The projected surplus this year of $2,1 billion will grow to more than $3 billion. Those socked away bucks will grow the Taxpayer Relief Fund to just north of $3.8 billion. Free tax cuts!
But education and many priority areas that will continue facing a budgetary squeeze, from public education and state universities to mental health and environmental protection.
The lesson here, kids, is wealthy taxpayers can spend the money better than your school. Have you made a gift to Reynolds’ campaign? Do you even have an airplane to loan the governor? Didn’t think so.
Opinion: Reynolds’ speech gives Iowa teachers whiplash
Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the annual Condition of the State address at the state Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in …
www.thegazette.com
