To the editor:
Iowa can and must learn from Perry.
Strength of Perry. Current legislative proposals to arm school staff need to add specific proposals to prevent another school shooting. The Republican-led legislative proposals are falling short but there is still time to enact policies to prevent another school shooting like the January 6 tragedy in Perry.
We do not doubt the community of Perry and those with close ties to Perry will recover with strength and resilience. As happens with a mass shooting, there will be talk of what might have prevented it, the best way forward, and what policies could be enacted to stop future tragedies. However, as with other shootings, our Iowa leaders do not focus on keeping the weapon out of the hands of young people, especially young people in pain or suffering.
Perry Community Schools educators and staff were heroes during the shooting; they were heroes before and after the shooting. In recent years distorted and false generalizations about teachers and public schools have filled Republican talking points and seeped into households, many dependent on public education.
Humanity and heroes in Perry. Perry Schools staff and administrators followed training protocols and protected children in a terrifying situation that had no local precedent. It is the most extreme and dangerous example of how our public school teachers have been given responsibilities that go far beyond teaching. Permitting school staff to carry weapons or store them in a school parking lot is not a solution, especially when compared to what enacting red flag laws can do.
Everyday challenges continue. Counselors are a fundamental part of the staff because some children come to school overwhelmed by personal circumstances. Our governor and legislature have the resources and authority to direct additional mental health dollars to our schools and to beef up, not diminish, our Area Education Agencies. AEA staff were among the first professionals at the scene.
We can do better for Perry and all of Iowa. On the day of the shooting, we heard Gov Reynolds at a press conference praising teachers and announcing all the resources available to victims. Yet, no one has done more to decrease funding levels for public education and demean its teachers than Republican leaders.
Perry and Iowa public schools deserve the support of the governor and legislature. Tell your legislators to enact the following:
1. Enact model Red Flag laws in the country.
2.Provide greater resources to schools and expand AEA services to deal with mental health crises. By the time a student is caught or seen in a hallway with a weapon, we have already failed at preventing greater violence.
3.Allocate taxpayer dollars to ensuring Iowans have access to mental health care, especially in rural areas. Private insurance does not cover mental healthcare needs across the state.
We can do better.
Monica Pietz, Perry Area Democrats / Mary Weaver, leader of the Women’s Caucus, rural Rippey / Ralph Rosenberg, retired legislator, Story County
~All are members of PRO Iowa 24, a group of concerned Iowans sharing progressive values from Greene, Guthrie, Boone, Story, and Dallas counties.
