Iowa 12th District House Representative, Brian Best, and 6th District Senator, Craig Williams, participated in their second Carroll Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum Saturday morning; both fielding more questions on education legislation. One drawing a lot of attention includes “school vouchers,” allowing parents of students in the 34 identified failing schools in the state to use the allocated funds to move their child to a private school. Williams stated in previous interviews that, first and foremost, he is focusing on the students.
Best agrees with Williams on some aspects of the bill, but not all.
And even though Best is not in full agreement with Williams, that does not mean one person is totally right and one is totally wrong.
Best says he too has been open and up front from the beginning on this issue.
Best says if there is any kind of compromise that can be made that would help private schools, he would support that, but not the voucher portion. The legislators also discussed the current proposals for a 2.5 percent school aid increase from the governor that is at 2.2 percent in the Senate. Both agree this is complicated, particularly by the fact it is based on this year’s enrollment. However, because of COVID-related issues, there may be recorded decreases in enrollment and an increase in state aid, could actually result in a decrease of funding next year. The bill proposes a one-time increase of $65 per pupil for those following in-person instruction laws, meaning all area schools qualify for this funding. It also includes an allocation of nearly $10 million to address per pupil transportation inequities as rural districts experience much higher transportation costs for a lower number of students. A link to the video of Saturday’s forum is included below.
