What Reynolds didn’t say matters

Often when a politician gives a speech it's what’s not said that speaks volumes. The details left out are as important or more important than what’s said

That's the case with Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State speech, especially when it comes to public education.

But any critique of a presentation should also note the parts worth praising. Reynolds recognized how Iowans responded to the devastating floods and tornadoes of last spring and summer. That was well done. She told the story of neighbors helping neighbors.

Also noteworthy was her announcement of allocating a $1 million grant for cancer research since Iowa’s cancer rate ranks second highest in the country and rising. That’s overdue.

But she left a lot unsaid about public education. Her speech reminded me of the brooding, silent, Gov. John Dutton in the fifth season of Yellowstone. He said in his announcement speech, “ If it’s progress you want, then don’t vote for me. I’m the opposite of progress.” But he left unsaid how he defines “progress.”

Kim Reynolds is Iowa’s John Dutton.

Here’s what she left unsaid.

It's no secret she wants to cut property taxes. But how she intends to do that still is a mystery. According to legislative leadership, this is the highest Republican priority, but Reynolds didn’t offer her vision of what that might look like. She also was strangely silent on what would replace the revenue lost.

Public schools are funded from a mix of local property taxes and state appropriations. Remove one ingredient from that mix and it will be toxic for public schools. Cutting property taxes will be popular until it starts to shutter local schools. Funding for schools was originally tied to property taxes because it was a predictable and constant source of revenue. Any substitute needs to provide the same kind of guarantees.

Reynolds bragged about signing the largest pay increase for teachers in the state's history. What she didn't say was this largest raise didn’t include all teachers. Initially it raised the minimum salary for beginning teachers to $47,500, provided they weren’t already earning that salary.

In the coming year the minimum is raised to $50,000 per year. It sets a minimum salary of $60,000 per year for teachers with at least 12 years of experience and that salary increases to $62,000 the subsequent year. There’s no automatic salary increase for teachers beyond the twelfth year. That means a lot of teachers earn no raise or a very small increase.

Reynolds also didn't tell the full story on her private school voucher program. The Reynolds' voucher plan has created a two-tier publicly funded school system, separate and unequal.

We now know most of the vouchers were provided to students already enrolled in private schools. It's not education freedom to provide public money to those who can already afford it. It's welfare for the well-off.

She neglects to tell Iowans that many private schools raised tuition because there was no moratorium on that built into the law. There's little overall accountability for the use of taxpayer money for a private choice. She also didn’t mention private schools are still free to reject students based on any criteria it chooses even if the student has a voucher in hand.

She was silent about the 42 counties in Iowa with no private school option, so those taxpayers are subsidizing more populated areas of the state.

Reynolds praised Iowa's boom in public charter schools. She didn't mention that most are popping up in urban and suburban areas, not rural Iowa.

Like Paul Harvey, Reynolds needs to “tell the rest of the story.” Iowans shouldn’t wake up some morning and be surprised by what the Legislature passed, and the governor signed.

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 he retired. BruceLear2419@gmail.com