Parents: Make Your Voice Heard to Support Education
Parents are encouraged to visit the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon to show their support for education.
Not everyone is following the sun for spring break. Some DMPS parents are following the money. More specifically, they’re following, closely, the legislative process as crunch time nears for the passage of state funding for Iowa’s public schools.
A committed group based at Hanawalt Elementary School is exercising some serious citizenship and they’re just getting warmed up, inviting parents from throughout Des Moines and across Iowa to join the effort.
H.E.A.T. (Hanawalt’s Education Advocacy Team) is inviting all who share their concerns about adequate school funding to take action. Specifically, the parents are encouraging people to do one, two or all three of the following:
- Sign and share a petition to the Legislature urging at least 4% allowable growth to fund public education in Iowa: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/invest-now-in-iowas-future.
- Email legislators and the Governor to urge them to support 4% allowable growth for public education (see below for a sample letter). Follow this link to access legislator e-mail addresses: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/contacts
- Join together on Wednesday, March 25th at 2:30 PM at the State Capitol to rally for education funding at the Capitol. (Parents and students are encouraged to make posters and wear their school t-shirts or sweatshirts.)
An email being distributed by the group notes: “Historically, Iowa’s leaders have placed great value in the funding and education of our children. The funding increases of +10% per year allowed Iowa students to thrive, and our state to proudly claim the top spot for quality of education.
However, today Iowa ranks 35th in the nation in terms of funding per pupil. Unfortunately there are members in both our state government and state legislature who believe the 35th spot is sufficient, and they stubbornly stand by the proposed 1.25% increase in education spending for the upcoming school year. This meager increase is well below general inflation, and will not even allow Iowa districts to provide education at the same level they are at this year, let alone permit schools to make the necessary annual investment needed to bring the quality of education in Iowa back to the top.
Iowa children are the future of our workforce, and will be the drivers of Iowa’s economy for years to come. A commitment to education should be an easy way to attract and retain families in our great state. We ask the state leadership to reconsider and make a more appropriate allocation by passing at least a +4% increase in state funding per pupil. There is no better investment than the young minds of our future leaders.”
Below is a draft letter prepared by H.E.A.T. to provide some information for emails or letters to state leaders:
Dear [Legislator];
As a [taxpayer, parent, grandparent] I have been following the discussions concerning education during this 2015 legislative session. I share and believe in the commitment to ensuring that every child has access to a high quality education. However, I have serious concerns about the impact of setting Supplemental State Aid at a mere 1.25 percent.
All children in Iowa deserve a quality education, yet Iowa continues to fund education at a rate that is not on pace with many other states. For FY2013-14, Iowa’s funding per pupil was approximately $9,761 while our neighbors spent nearly $1,000 to over $3,500 more per pupil (Illinois $13,372, Minnesota $11,929, Wisconsin $11,630, and Missouri $10,419).
Furthermore, school districts including ours have been underfunded in the past. As you know, FY2012 was the first time in the 40+-year history of the Supplemental State Aid formula that schools experienced a zero percent increase. In the years following, the two percent set for FY2013 and FY2014 and the 4% for FY2015 did not bridge the consequential shortcomings. Now we face another year of inadequate SSA for our schools while they work to meet expectations to improve outcomes for our children.
The real issue regarding what isn’t affordable is the stripped-down school structure that will result from the compounding of SSA decisions made over the years. Our kids deserve quality teachers in their classrooms. They deserve curriculum and technology that supports their success in learning. They deserve world-class schools. They need those making the decisions that impact them to do better.
As an Iowa taxpayer, I am asking you to commit to funding education – to funding Iowa’s future – with an adequate per pupil growth rate of 4%.
Thank you for your time and consideration as well as your commitment to Iowa’s children.
Sincerely,
[Your Name and Contact Information]
