Don’t break our promise to public workers

I’ve been a proud public school educator for a long time, working side by side with dedicated public servants from all walks of life. Teachers understand efficiency. We have to be masters of time, attention, and resources to ensure every kid in our classroom receives the high-quality education they deserve. If you asked, I bet most teachers and most public employees would applaud a genuine effort to make our systems more efficient and effective. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see the governor’s DOGE Task Force trot out the same old tired, ineffective, and downright wasteful ideas we’ve seen before.

The task force’s report makes dozens of recommendations, including a proposal to study public employee benefits, exploring a possible shift for new employees to a defined-contribution plan – similar to a 401(k) – instead of the traditional defined-benefit structure.

Public employee retirement systems, like IPERS, are a promise, not a suggestion. They’re a promise of retirement security, earned after years of service, for teachers, nurses, law enforcement officers, and many other public employees. Protecting that promise is a duty of all elected officials – one which Gov. Kim Reynolds has publicly committed to in the past. The governor said that IPERS “isn’t going anywhere,” but what she hasn’t said is equally important – that she will not change it. In not forcefully defending those earned benefits now, the governor appears willing to break the promise made to so many, to weaken the stability of our defined-benefit plans, and to undermine confidence in public service careers across the state.

IPERS is among the most well-run public retirement programs in the country. Should this new study recommend altering the structure of our public employee retirement plans, it would threaten the plan’s long-term solvency – not just for new employees, but for existing and retired workers.

Government efficiency is a worthwhile goal, but it must not come at the expense of those who make Iowa’s public services function every day. This recommendation risks the integrity of our systems and would punish our dedicated public servants.

Public employees are the backbone of our state. They deserve transparency, stability, and respect, not broken promises, tired ideas, and uncertainty about their futures. Gov. Reynolds should immediately reject the task force’s proposal.

Democratic state Sen. Molly Donahue represents Senate District 37.