It’s been nearly a year since the Iowa City school district closed Hills Elementary -- the only school in the small Johnson County town. Residents and city leaders say despite that loss, the town is “poised to grow,” with new home construction, cornerstone businesses and a way of life that includes small-town living and big city conveniences.
“I've already done 42 in-person town halls, and I'm doing a telephone town hall next week,” Hinson said Friday. “So I am absolutely committed to continuing to do town halls this Congress. And we're working on continuing to get those scheduled.”
As a Nature Everywhere Community, Cedar Rapids schools will add “greenery” to some school yards and playgrounds. That could be anything from nature — like putting down more grass or installing a garden — to building infrastructure that’s stormwater and flood resistant and incorporates heat protection.
On the day by which University of Iowa officials said they were told to close the campus’ renamed and reformed Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity — previously its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division — the university on Thursday debuted a new website for its Office of Civil Rights Compliance.
Since Iowa State University initiated the practice in the 1800s, more than 230 honorary degrees have been conferred by the state’s public universities to individuals who demonstrated “extraordinary achievements” — and now the campuses have a uniform policy to rescind them, if necessary.
A poll of area residents commissioned by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance revealed lukewarm sentiment toward a proposed $211 million bond meant to support future operations in the Cedar Rapids school district.
Governors in several Republican-led states -- spurred by Iowa -- are pressing the Trump administration to cut strings attached to their federal education money, a goal conservatives have long dreamed of that now appears within reach.
Both chambers have now signed off on the governor’s proposal, which she unveiled during her annual Condition of the State address in January.
Iowa's governor this week praised President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the Department of Education, while some other state politicians and education leaders warned of dire potential impacts for schools and students.
Cedar Rapids schools will reduce building staff positions by 6 percent and cut $7M in administrative expenses to adjust to a budget deficit that district officials said is the result of declining enrollment and decreases in state and federal funding.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.
The group hopes to expand the 3 Dimensions of Education program to a total of 22 Iowa schools and 13,640 student by 2030.
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