
Some of Iowa’s anti-mask mandate parents have a new strategy to get what they want: threatening to defund public education by temporarily pulling their children out of school.
Jeff Fahrmann of Ankeny started a petition that opposed the Ankeny School District implementing any sort of mask mandate following Monday’s ruling by a federal judge that suspended Iowa’s previous mask mandate ban.
As part of the strategy, Farhmann and anyone who signed the petition have implied they are willing to unenroll their children from the district on or before Oct.1, which is the day Iowa public schools conduct a census to determine certified enrollment. Certified enrollment is an annual report of enrolled resident students used for the Iowa School Finance Formula calculation.
[inline-ad id=”1″]
The strategy was mentioned again during a protest outside of Tuesday’s special Ankeny School Board meeting by Kimberly Reicks, an Ankeny mother who, alongside Emily Peterson of Ankeny, are known as the Iowa Mama Bears in far-right circles.
“Nobody here should comply and we should take our kids and we should pull them out of school if they mandate masks on them again,” Reicks said. “We will take their funding because my kid and your kids is not their paycheck; my kid is not for sale. My child is mine.”
Reicks and Petersen took credit for getting Iowa’s mask mandate ban in place and attended the May 20 signing of the bill in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office.
[inline-ad id=”2″]
The Ankeny School Board delayed taking any action at Tuesday’s special meeting, saying it needed to seek additional information.
A similar defunding tactic is playing out in the Waukee School District. A social media post circulating tells parents to call district officials and tell them they don’t want a mask mandate and that they will unenroll their children for two weeks to miss the certified enrollment date.
“MAKE WCSD PAY!” read the post in the Let The Parents Decide – Waukee Facebook group. “…If the school board passes a mask mandate tonight, unenroll your childrenn for 2 weeks beginning tomorrow morning … Spend the next 2 weeks having a fun fall break with your children, homeschool lessons and community homeschool co-op learning with others parents … After October 1 we will reenroll our students.”
The Waukee School Board, however, voted four to two on Thursday to not implement a mask mandate for all students. The board previously discussed a mask requirement for students who are too young to get vaccinated, but the measure ended in a stalemate.
by Ty Rushing
09/17/21
[inline-ad id=”0″]

Elder fraud on rise: Older Iowans lost more than $16.4 million in 2023
A new report shows the number of Americans getting scammed is on the rise, and elder fraud is the most common. Iowa ranked 33rd in the nation for...

Iowa Republicans make outlawing gay marriage key 2024 campaign priority
Iowa Republicans have made outlawing gay marriage a key goal in their 2024 party platform. During the Iowa GOP’s 2024 state convention on Saturday,...

Department of Justice says Iowa immigration law violates US Constitution
If Iowa doesn’t suspend the enforcement of its new immigration law by May 7, the state could face a federal lawsuit, according to the Des Moines...

Rushing: Iowa State president said the quiet part out loud
I want to thank Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen for doing us all a favor by finally saying the quiet part out loud: all the...

Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program
Iowa has committed nearly $180 million in taxpayer funds to support private school tuition in the 2024-25 school year, which is almost $50 million...

Kalbach: Immediate action needed on corporate ag pollution
Iowa agriculture has undergone substantial changes over the past 40 years. We see it all around us. Rather than crops and livestock being raised on...