Educators discuss Education Savings Accounts, school funding at Cedar Rapids roundtable with gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jessica Roman has been an educator in Iowa for 22 years, and currently works as an early access teacher for the Grant Wood Area Education Agency. She’s seen a lot of change in the education system in the state in that time, especially over the last decade. In her view, very little has been positive.

“It think it’s a perfect case of too much government interference in a craft they’re not familiar with,” Roman said Thursday, after a roundtable discussion with other educators from Eastern Iowa.

The roundtable — held at the Cedar Rapids Ladd Library — was convened and led by State Auditor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand.

The group discussed their concerns about Iowa’s education system, including state funding and how that affects pay for teachers and paraeducators. They also shared concerns about curriculum and how easily students can be left behind when the curriculum can’t be adjusted to meet the needs of each student.

“I used to pride myself as a special educator in finding the book that a kid could read, that they would enjoy, that they’d like,” said Kelly Stiffler, a teacher at Excelsior Middle School in Marion. “And now we have four books that you read in a year, and it’s dictated what you do, and how you do it.”

George Anderson, a teacher at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, said he’s seen a lot of students who come to high school having not mastered certain skills they should have learned much earlier.

“I would love to see some resource concentration in elementary schools so that those kids are not allowed to leave without being literate capable, because they can’t access anything after that, and they just learn to avoid it,” Anderson said, later adding that he doesn’t believe the issues is with teachers, but with the curriculum and resources they’re given. “I’ve never heard a high school teacher blame the elementaries. It’s systemic, it’s materials, and it’s volume of resources.”

Sand: Promising to repeal Education Savings Accounts isn’t realistic

Other issues raised during the discussion include recent changes to funding for Iowa’s Area Education Agencies, which provide support services like special education across the state, and concerns about how public dollars are being used in private schools through Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Education Savings Accounts.

Sand, in response to a question about his views on Education Savings Accounts, said he doesn’t believe it’s realistic to promise to get rid of the program as governor, given the Republican majorities in both the Iowa House and Senate. However, he said he believes there are ways to make the program better by increasing the accountability of private schools that use the program.

“If you want public money and you want competition, well competition is where everybody follows the same rules,” Sand said. “So, private schools, if they’re going to take public money, should have to have an audit. We should be able to see where public money goes. They should have to have open meetings. They should have to have open records.”

The educators participating in the discussion Thursday expressed gratitude for Sand’s willingness to listen to their concerns as part of his campaign.

“The teacher voice has been removed from many of the conversations, and this is what we went to school for. This is our love. This is our passion. This is what we know how to do. This is what we do best. We figure out how kids learn, what they love to learn,” said Nicole Redington, a teacher at Excelsior Middle School. “We figure out how to help them be the best versions of themselves that they can be. And when our voice is taken out of the equation, it’s really hard to help that student realize that potential.”

Sand announced in May that he will be running for governor. Gov. Kim Reynolds said in April she will not seeking re-election.

Other candidates who have announced they will be running for the office include former Republican state lawmaker Brad Sherman, of Williamsburg, Republican state Rep. Eddie Andrews, of Johnston, and Democrat Julie Stauch, of West Des Moines.

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, and Republican Iowa State Sen. Mike Bousselot, of Ankeny, have announced exploratory campaigns.

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