Iowa MAGA party attacks local control again

Before Iowa’s 42-year-old public sector bargaining law was gutted, collective bargaining was a lot like a middle school dance. At the start, there was a chasm between wannabe dancers. They huddled with their own group, talking about what might be.

Gradually they inched closer. Suddenly, the dance floor rocked until deadlines loomed, and the lights blazed on.

It’s never easy. But it worked.

Compromise is hard work, and a contentious issue in Whiting might not cause heartburn in West Des Moines. But one similarity was the reduction in force language.

Bargainers on both sides realized it was important to have objective criteria for a layoff since the termination of an employee’s contract wasn’t because of poor performance. It was about a poor budget.

When contracts were first negotiated, both sides voluntarily agreed that staff reduction language should recognize seniority. Those that didn’t have a voluntary agreement had a chosen arbitrator who decided staff reduction language should be objective.

With House File 859 has MAGA legislators are pretending they know more than local bargaining teams. This bill eliminates seniority as a factor. It requires “Practitioner performance be the sole or primary factor in determining who should be laid off.”

Yes, everyone wants the most qualified teachers. But this bill spawns some serious unintended consequences.

Bargainers knew they were negotiating a contract they would live under. Both sides owned it. If we goofed up language there was discomfort and a whole lot of shouting for change. But we could fix it. House File 859 takes away that local control.

I understand districts under the new “bargaining lite law” can refuse to bargain anything but beginning salary. But districts wanting to keep quality educators not only discuss important issues like staff reduction, but the language is added to the master contract or the employee handbook.

Under this bill a school district could fire a 25-year veteran and keep a first-year educator. Veteran teachers establish the climate in a building. I could always tell when I walked in the building and there was a positive or negative climate.

Savvy administrators often assign the most difficult kids to veteran educators. That means judging performance for staff reduction is biased against the senior teacher.

Schools also need new teachers full of unbridled optimism and energy with new ideas, but it can’t be at the expense of veterans whose wisdom comes from experience.

Because of chronic underfunding, inexperienced administrators may look for the easiest path to balance a budget. That means laying off the more expensive educators and then hoping for the best. Under House File 859, that would be legal yet totally unacceptable.

I guess it’s not a surprise the MAGA school board under the Golden Dome wants to meddle in local collective bargaining. They’ve pretended to be experts on school libraries, public libraries, classroom books, history teaching, and university curriculum. They siphoned money from public schools to pay for private ones.

I trust local school boards and education associations to bargain language that meets local needs. I think Iowans do too.

Bruce Lear of 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