Let’s Put Kids Ahead Of Special Interest
The end of the school year is upon us. Schools are busy finalizing their budgets and preparing for next year. Since Governor Culver and legislative Democrats underfunded K-12 education by $162 million dollars while still spending the second most amount of money in Iowa history, schools are making deep cuts and property taxes are going up. Culver’s property tax increases are collectively estimated to be near $182 million but could be as high as a half billion dollars.
Through all of this, many teachers and staff members have been let go to ensure districts are operating with a balanced budget. When these layoffs are made, districts are forced to make decisions based on seniority – not necessarily on whether they are retaining the best teachers for the students in their districts.
This must change.
A recent Register Editorial in the Des Moines Sunday Register <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100509/OPINION03/5090317/1110/Keep-best-teachers-not-necessarily-veterans> does a good job highlighting the need to change the way we evaluate and promote teachers. “Seniority tends to be a big factor in who stays – it’s written into school district contracts – which can have devastating consequences for students,” wrote the Des Moines Sunday Register. “Putting the best teacher possible in every classroom should be everyone’s top priority. It’s mind-boggling that it isn’t,” they concluded.
I could not agree more.
Year after year, Republicans have authored broad and sweeping education reforms in the Iowa Legislature to reform education. If enacted, our “pay for performance” law would be one of the boldest reform plans anywhere in the nation. “Pay for performance” legislation was passed by the Legislature in 2006 but Governor Vilsack caved in to the demands of the deep pocketed union bosses who prefer the stagnant status quo. This, like many similar proposals to enhance student achievement and renew the legacy of Iowa’s proud heritage in education, has been defeated year after year by the party currently in power.
Case in point, when Iowa applied for President Obama’s Race to the Top grant program, our state’s application was denied. Governor Culver and legislative Democrats, like Vilsack, caved to the demands of powerful special interests and well-funded union bosses by voting down Republican efforts to revitalize our education system and make Iowa more competitive.
Today, 20 to 25 percent of our students are one year or more below grade level. This drastic change in direction is one of the leading reasons why our eighth graders in 1993 were first in mathematics but have now fallen to 28th. Though we have spent billions of dollars, student achievement has stagnated and in many instances declined. The 2008 Iowa Condition of Education Report shows student proficiency has decreased over the past year in fourth grade reading, fourth grade math, eleventh grade reading and eleventh grade math.
We need more accountability. Everyone must be accountable for the success of our students. Though these children may be students today, we will be relying on them to be the leaders of tomorrow. Students, parents, schools, colleges of education and policymakers all need to be held accountable.
We need to pay our good teachers well and weed out those who are not meeting the necessary standards. There are excellent teachers with all levels of experience and they must be rewarded and those who do not excel need to move on. We must be clear, basing personnel decisions solely on seniority must end.
As it stands now, the rest of the world is leaving America behind and the rest of America is starting to leave Iowa behind. Simply throwing more money at the problem without real reform has not and will continue not to work.
We need dramatic reform and we need it now. If we fail to act, we are leaving our children, grandchildren and future generations of Iowans without the necessary skills they need to be productive members of society.
It’s time to put our students first by preparing them to be productive citizens who possess the necessary skills and knowledge to compete with any one else in the world. Our kids deserve the very best.
A Long Way To Go on The Budget
State Budget: A Long Way to Go
The budget remains our primary focus during this session. It’s no secret that Governor Culver’s FY2011 budget spends more than it takes in, with expenditures exceeding revenue by as much as $1.3 Billion. Iowa has a statutory spending limitation of 99% of revenue, but the Governor is proposing expenditures of 111% of revenue. That won’t work in your family or mine, and it’s not going to work in the state’s finances either. One unacceptable result of this deficit is a likely hike in property taxes, but that’s not all. The Governor plans to tap Iowa’s Cash Reserve Fund to the tune of over $200 million, leaving the state in a more precarious financial position. I did not vote for the FY2010 budget and I will not vote for the FY2011 budget if it spends more than we take in.
House Republicans proposed numerous spending reductions for the FY2010 budget (see partial list below), but House majority democrats shot every one of these proposals down.
| End Benefits to Illegal Immigrant Adults |
$92,300,000 |
| Shift Voluntary Preschool Responsibilities to Empowerment |
$45,000,000 |
| See Vehicle Fleet, Outsource Vehicle Leasing (one time) |
$34,000,000 |
| Eliminate “phantom” employees – funded, unfilled FTE positions |
$25,000,000 |
| Combine State Information Technology and Email Systems |
$20,000,000 |
| Reduce Funding for Library Acquisitions at Regents by 50% |
$13,500,000 |
| No DNR Land Acquisitions for FY2010 |
$5,000,000 |
| Eliminate Taxpayer Funded Lobbyists |
$4,000,000 |
| Freeze non-critical out-of-state travel |
$1,500,000 |
| Eliminate Washington DC Internship (seek private funding) |
$90,000 |
| Eliminate Charger Flights by Members of the DOT Commission |
$17,000 |
Although House Democrats claim they are making $260 million in spending reductions, the spending data they distributed this week clearly shows their current budget still spends as much as the previous year. House Republicans will be offering numerous cost savings ideas again this year, but we’re going to need a virtual public outcry to get democrats to make the necessary spending cutbacks.
Potential Medicaid Crisis Looming
Legislative Democrats plan to underfund Medicaid by $347 million in FY2011, using cash reserves to make up $187 million of the shortfall, and relying on Congress to extend the Medicaid matching rate for another $95 million – provided Congress votes for the extension. However, if these projections don’t occur, the General Fund contribution for Medicaid will amount to only half of the state’s need. Fast forward to FY2012, and Medicaid could need over half a billion in additional General Fund dollars.
In Your Community
We will have our Forum on Saturday, March 20th from 9:00-10:00 a.m. It will be held at the Administration Bldg., 2nd floor, Indianola.
As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent our district in the House of Representatives. That responsibility means a lot to me, and I am working hard to ensure your voice is heard.