Parents, Students Turn Up H.E.A.T. at State Capitol
Parents and students were lobbyists-for-a-day, advocating for public education funding at the State Capitol.
It was business as usual at the Iowa Statehouse Wednesday afternoon. Until…
At 2:30 a rally in support of increased state funding for public schools convened on the main floor, right outside the governor’s offices. It was organized by H.E.A.T (Hanawalt’s Education Advocacy Team) and drew support from around the district – the whole state, actually. A like-minded group from Davenport, sporting sarcastic t-shirts that read “I AM WORTH LESS,” threw in with the locals to petition lawmakers for a funding level in excess of the 1.25% hike favored by Governor Branstad and the Iowa House of Representatives.
Placards designed and displayed by youngsters bobbed above the spirited bunch. When they marched up to the second floor rotunda and waded in amongst the regular gaggle of lobbyists that perches outside the House of Representatives and the Senate when they’re in session they were met at the top of the stairs. A state trooper advised that the placards would have to be set aside per capitol rules. A pile of them quickly mounted on the floor next to a big table where the lobbyists stow their attaches.
Suddenly the area was clogged and abuzz. Who were these newcomers in t-shirts and tennis shoes instead of pricey three piece suits?
Concerned parents began filling out requests for key legislators to come out and speak with them. Sergeants at Arms posted outside both chambers carried the messages inside and carried back the replies that House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, for instance, was tied up at the moment and not available to meet with the citizen-lobbyists. Some lawmakers did talk with the group, including State Representative Kevin Koester (R-Ankeny) whose district includes a small slice of DMPS.
Three of the activists were Maria Filippone and her daughters Ellie, 12, a student at Brody Middle School, and Francesca, 8, a student at the Downtown School. Dr. Filippone and her husband, Dr. Robert Filippone, have a third daughter, Glori Dei, 16, who attends Central Academy.
The Filippones moved to Des Moines 11 years ago after finishing their medical residencies in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We saw an up and coming big town that could become the next BEST place to live,” read a letter, in part, that Filippone was distributing to legislators. “We saw a good place to put down roots and start small businesses like the children’s theater we founded…We would not have chosen to settle in Iowa if the schools were ranked as low then as they are now.”
Filippone and the rest are asking for at least a 4% growth in state funding for schools, a level that school districts insist is the minimum necessary just to maintain the status quo. “We need Kleenex,” pleaded one placard.
“Every single day I thank my lucky stars for DMPS,” Filippone’s letter went on. “Our three daughters thrive here…We chose to settle in Iowa over other states in large part because of the educational system. Please don’t chip away at what makes this state great by underfunding our schools.”
They’re asking nicely, but they mean business, and not business as what’s become usual in recent years while Iowa has fallen to as low as 37th among the states in terms of per pupil funding levels.
And if you didn’t make it to Wednesday’s rally at the State Capitol, you can still voice your support for public education to Iowa lawmakers. H.E.A.T is encouraging parents in Des Moines and throughout to do one or both 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
