Unraveling the education vouchers
~a column by Mary Weaver
Remember when you had a snag in a sweater and your Mom said, “Don’t pull it, it will unravel!”?
I am sharing my concerns about the unraveling of Iowa’s educational system, especially impacting rural Iowa counties.
Let us start at the beginning.
January 24, 2023, Governor Reynolds signed the Students First Act into law, just two weeks after her Condition of the State message requesting the action. That action allows parents to enroll their eligible children in an accredited private school. For example, the first year a family of four could have an income of $83,250 and be eligible. That increases to four times the poverty level for the 2024-25 school year and removes any restrictions on eligibility in the third year of implementation.
The amount available is equal to $7,593 per pupil, the same allocated by the state to all public-school districts. The contracting company retains the amount, eventually to be deposited and used for private school tuition, fees, and other qualified education expenses. It was estimated that the first-year cost would be $106.9 million, and an estimated 14,068 applications.
Friday, June 16, the Department of Education had received 15,538 applications. The application period extends through June 30. Those additional dollars will eventually result in fewer dollars for public schools. Reimbursement to the public schools from the state depends upon local school enrollment. The crunch to rural communities comes when it is noted that only 41 of Iowa’s counties have a private school.
A New York-based education technology company, Odyssey, was granted $4.3 million to manage the private school scholarship program. The company, originated in 2019, currently runs similar programs in Arizona, as well as Idaho’s “Empowering Parents”. A press release from the Iowa Governor’s office stated the contract was awarded, “based on its ability to manage all aspects of program administration, including applications, financial transactions, compliance, fraud prevention, and customer service.” This was two days after the initial signing of the bill.
A chill went up my spine when I Googled Idaho’s program as that state is allowing home schooling reimbursement. (Be watchful for this in the upcoming legislative session beginning Jan. 8, 2024).
Another chill for me was regarding the 10 counties that will receive the most funding: Polk, Dubuque, Linn, Sioux, Scott, Woodbury, Johnson, Carroll, and Plymouth. They would alone stand to receive $177.4 million annually in private school voucher funds. Rural Iowa is sadly left out of any financial benefits.
The unraveling string will not be pulled because of the gutting of the State of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand’s office. The auditor’s office will not learn what taxpayers’ dollars are being used for in private schools.
Our legislative representatives, Carter Nordam, and Jesse Green, will be in our district throughout the summer attending festivals and parades. Communicate with them about not sustaining their rural communities.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, and we are suffocating in the loss of funding in rural Iowa as well as potentially education principles.
Mary Weaver expresses her window views from her rural Rippey home. She is a past president of the East Greene board of education, and her two children graduated from the local district. She is chair of the Iowa Democratic Women’s Caucus. She wants all of Greene County’s children to have quality educational experiences.
