Iowa voters shouldn't be fooled by Republican spin

As a teenager, I participated in a few snipe hunts. The hunt went like this. On a dark night, a group would go into the woods. Those from past hunts were the so-called snipe chasers. The naive, newbie was tricked into being the bag holder. After making some noise to herd the mythical snipe toward the bag, the chasers hid. One person was left alone holding the bag.

Today in Iowa, the partisan politics surrounding public schools seems like a cruel version of those long-ago snipe hunts.

But now, in the political snipe hunt, it’s the public that’s left to hold the bag in the dark while the Governor and leadership in both chambers of the Legislature hide the truth. Iowa’s motto on its quarter is “Foundation in Education,” but that foundation is crumbling. It’s time for Iowa voters to wake up and understand they are being pranked by Republican politicians.

Republicans have a three-ingredient spin formula that’s working. Here’s how they strap in voters for their never-ending carnival ride.

First, it’s no coincidence the same legislation keeps popping up like field corn in bleeding red states. The American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) is a conservative think tank that writes legislation for conservative legislators to introduce. A large percentage of Iowa legislators are members of this group. ALEC offers easy fill- in-the-blank proposals that legislatures can sign on to propose.

Second, is the adult version of children’s telephone. game. It’s the game where a message is whispered from child to child and at the end, the message is quite different from the first whisper.

The adult version works this way. Networks like Fox and Newsmax air a story about something they spin as outrageous happening in one public school. Because networks have airtime to fill, the story is played repeatedly. Then viewers use social media to give their own spin with altered facts.

A politician is outraged by the social media posts and decides to write a law for Iowa schools about an isolated incident that might have happened nine states away. Thus, a law in search of a problem is born.

The third ingredient to the spin formula is the “I’ve been hearing from a lot of people” method. It starts with a politician who says, “I’m not sure, but I’ve been hearing from parents, teachers are requiring kids to read X-rated books.” No facts, no details, it’s weaponized rumor.

That’s how the mean-spirited rumor about litter boxes in public school restrooms for students identifying as cats began. It started at a Michigan school board meeting where a parent said she heard it was happening. It spread faster than a grass fire in a derecho.

Now, this myth is being used by Tim Kraayenbrink, a Republican state senator to justify why vouchers for private schools are needed in Iowa. He later issued a non-apology apology saying a constituent told him it was true.

Some public schools are struggling but the solution isn’t to abandon the public for the private. Leaders in both parties need to step up and provide resources to help struggling schools while ensuring excellent schools continue to thrive.

That can only happen if the majority party and the governor stop attacking teachers, meddling in local control of curriculum and routinely underfunding schools. If that doesn’t happen, Iowa parents will be left holding the bag when classrooms don’t have teachers but are packed with kids, wanting to learn.

Leaders of both parties need to find the middle and work together to tell the truth about our schools. We can’t let our education foundation crumble around our children.

Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to public schools for 38 years. He taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until retiring.