Iowa lawmakers have done enough damage. Go home

It’s after midnight. You’ve yawned and stretched. You’ve heard the same story twice. There’s no move to leave. They’ve settled in.

You pick up the plates, bottles, and cans and say, “I’ve got an early day tomorrow.” But they’ve one more story to tell.

We’ve all been in this situation. They’re your friends and you don’t want to offend, but they’ve overstayed. Your instinct is to yell, “Go home!” But friendship demands patience.

The majority party in the Iowa Legislature and the governor, based on what they’ve done recently, are not my friends. I feel comfortable shouting; “go home! You’ve done enough damage.”

Both political parties need to be called-out when they’re not listening and are damaging the basic values. Republicans are guilty of this.

The Republican Party at one time preached a small government, little intrusion doctrine. They scoffed at the “Nanny State.” What we didn’t realize was the scoffing turned to cheering once they got to hire the nanny. Now, intrusion is common, and they’ve no time for listening.

It’s hard to list all the ways they’ve wielded unchecked power but here are a few public education examples.

The school community is diverse. It’s comprised of parents, support staff, school board members, administrators, teachers, and community leaders. it’s hard to get consensus on many issues.

But one issue the school community agreed on was protecting Area Education Agencies. If the governor insisted on change, the education community agreed there should be a comprehensive study with all stakeholders involved as decision-makers.

Instead, Republicans rammed through a 49-page bill that few had read, and most Iowans opposed. Those 49 pages included surprises and mistakes. Gov. Kim Reynolds refused to correct any mistakes. She smugly said, “I’m absolutely not open to tweaking the AEA law.”

The teacher salary bill is long overdue, but instead of listening they logrolled it into the “AEA Destruction Act.” They did it so they could run attack ads labeling Democrats who voted against it as anti-teacher. It’s cynical and false, but you’ll see it in October.

The party that moans about the economy shortchanged public schools by providing 2.5% in state aid. Local schools are busy cutting staff now.

There’s more to come. The Senate just passed an amended version of HF 2586 and sent it back to the House. That’s the bill allowing school personnel to be armed and tries to force school districts with an enrollment of over 8,000 students to hire school resource officers or security guards for every building housing grades 9-12 unless the school board votes against it

Creating a school environment with guns is asking for trouble. Insurance companies willing to cover districts will raise premiums to cover higher risk. Kids will know who is armed and where the guns are stored.

It’s time for legislators to clean their desks, say goodbye to colleagues, and go home. They’ve done enough damage. It’s also time for voters to provide some checks and balance in November.

Bruce Lear, who lives in Sioux City, taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until retiring. BruceLear2419@gmail.com