Area school board members meet with legislators

      Lori Robertson, Clear Creek Amana School Board Secretary and Executive Director of Finance, listens during discussion with area legislators at a school board in-service meeting in Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 29.

By J.O. Parker & Debbie Parker
 
       The BGM and HLV School districts hosted a board in-service session at the Michael J. Manatt Community Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 29. This is an annual event where area school superintendents and their board members are invited to take part in an open discussion with legislators representing area districts.
      The event drew about 30 attendees included superintendents and board members from BGM, Belle Plaine, Clear Creek Amana, English Valleys, Grinnell-Newburg, HLV, Iowa Valley, Montezuma, Tri-County and Williamsburg. Invited but not in attendance were Benton, North Mahaska, Keota and Lynnville-Sully districts.
The evening began with a pork loin dinner served by the Brooklyn Iowa Ruritan Club. Following dinner, there was a legislative forum. The legislators present were Rep. Thomas Gerhold from House District 84, Rep. Dean Fisher from House District 85, Rep. Jon Dunwell from House District 38, Sen. Dawn Driscoll from Senate District 46 and Rep. Judd Lawler from House District 91.
       During this portion of the evening, superintendent and board members asked questions regarding proposed bills and their impact on schools. One of the items discussed was state supplemental aid, which Gov. Reynolds has tentatively suggested setting at 2 percent. 
         “The Senate and Governor were united with this amount,” said Rep. Dunwell. “The house wasn’t too far off.”
         I would like to see three percent or four percent, not two percent,” said Clear Creek Amana school board member Dr. Allison Momany. “Two percent is not sufficient.” 
         “The entire state budget is around nine billion,” said Sen. Driscoll. “Education gets approximately $4.5 billion. Ag is the largest industry in the state and it’s budget is only around $15 million,” “I appreciate you asking for four percent, but you have to look at the whole budget.”
         Also discussed were property taxes and their relationship to school funding.
        “School funding is complicated,” said Rep. Dunwell. “The challenge we have with property taxes is there is a great disconnect. I would like for us all to come together and figure out how to meet those needs.”
       “Property tax should allow for normal growth,” said Rep. Gerhold. “Some counties have really shot up with what they are taxing.”
          Sen. Driscoll added, “Iowa is ranked 10th for the highest property taxes in the United States.”
        “We are under pressure to keep expenses down,” said Rep. Fisher. “People want less money coming out of their pockets.”
       Another topic briefly discussed was official newspapers. Montezuma school board member Cori Henkle asked, “Why can’t we publish our information on our website instead of having to put it in a newspaper?”
Rep. Fisher responded that the Iowa Newspaper Association pushes back when that topic is discussed. 
        Montezuma Superintendent Rich Schulte added, “If we don’t have a prominent newspaper in our area, we should be able to post it in a prominent place on our website.”
Curt Rheingans, superintendent of Iowa Valley and English Valleys school districts, said, “Open enrollment stops after March 1 but online open enrollment does not have the same deadline. Is there something we can do about that?”
          The legislative members indicated they weren’t sure and said they would look into the matter.
          BGM and HLV Superintendent Brad Hohensee asked about changing the school start date.
           Rep. Gerhold said, “State fair and tourism want to be protected.”
           “I would like to check on the status of Senate File 274 regarding accepting cash for sporting events,” said BGM school board member Sammy Kuntz. 
            The legislators present said they were aware of the topic but they didn’t know its status.
          “What I want to know is why we have to pay 94 cents more per ticket (to purchase the ticket with a credit card), said HLV superintendent, athletic and transportation secretary, Carol Healey. “I have several older women in our district who don’t have access to the internet so we always purchase extra tickets so that they can attend the games.”
           Another board member present stated that the school has to pay Bound a fee whether they use the service or not and wanted to know how that started.
            The legislators didn’t know but said they would look into it.
         At the end of the evening, government relations director, Michelle Johnson, who spends most of her time at the Iowa Capitol advocating for school districts and their needs, spoke about her organization’s goals and ongoing support of school boards and districts in Iowa. Michael Guanci, Associate Executive Director, Government Relations and School Finance, offered financial clarifications and updates on upcoming bills related to schools.
         The meeting adjourned with legislators, administrators and board members looking forward to future opportunities to engage in visiting schools to see teaching and learning in action. Working together, everyone present knows that they can help make a positive difference for the students of Iowa.