Guest post: I’m voting for strong, fully-funded public schools

We need strong, fully-funded public schools. The future of our communities—and our state—depends on it.

You can tell it’s almost time to vote when harvest is wrapping up. We finished our beans several weeks ago, and we got our corn out the other day. Prices are too low and costs are too high, but we have our fingers crossed. Just like I have my fingers crossed that we’ll elect more state legislators who will fight for fully-funded public schools and push back against private school vouchers.

In early October, I attended one of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) Action’s book tour meetings with Jennifer Berkshire, co-author of “The Education Wars.” We held seven meetings in five days. Nearly 200 people showed up—parents, teachers, school board members, candidates running for public office—and we covered a lot of ground.

We talked about how all of us benefit from strong public schools because they’ve made our country—and our state—far more equal, educated, and democratic.

We talked about public schools being accountable to their local communities and how they don’t discriminate—how they give all students an opportunity to explore new ideas and develop their skills, talents, and minds.

We talked about studies from different states that show student performance and achievement going down when private school voucher programs expand, and how vouchers are budget busters—they end up costing taxpayers a lot more than originally promised.

We talked about how the war on public schools that’s being waged here by Gov. Kim Reynolds, House Speaker Pat Grassley, and Senate President Amy Sinclair is part of a national playbook that’s funded by billionaires like Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education under Donald Trump.

We also talked about how our state legislators voted on these three recent bills:

• SF 496, the bill that bans thousands of books;
• HF 68, the bill that defunds public education by shifting over $200 million annually from public schools to private schools through vouchers;
• HF 2612, the bill that guts our Area Education Agencies

You can see how your legislators voted on these anti-public school bills at www.cciaction.org/nov-5-elections.

Jennifer didn’t mince words at our meetings. She told the truth plain and simple. And here’s something she said that really stuck with me:

“Until recently, politicians on both sides of the aisle understood that strong public schools are essential for a state like Iowa. They anchor communities, strengthen and contribute to the local economy, and provide a better quality of life for all of us. But today, too many Republicans have convinced themselves that we don’t need public education anymore. It may not be long before their constituents remind them to the contrary.”

Voters decide who we elect. And those we elect are accountable to us, the people. They work for us, not for billionaires like Betsy DeVos.

Remember to vote on November 5. We need strong, fully-funded public schools. The future of our communities—and our state—depends on it.

Barb Kalbach is a fourth-generation family farmer, registered nurse, and longtime member of Iowa CCI Action. She can be reached at [email protected].