Vouchers will harm public schools

Once, Iowans were proud of “the education state.” Our K-12 schools ranked near the top of the nation. Since early statehood, in the 1850s, Iowans built schoolhouses and hired teachers to ensure their children had a better education than they had. We valued teachers and our high school graduates ranked high in ACT/SAT testing, a predictor of academic success. Sadly, K-12 education has been under attack for the past decade as the Legislature curtailed funding growth for schools and we rank number 24. Now, public schools face fresh attacks by the Legislature, unless everyone who supports public education speaks up to say “Enough is enough!”

In 2021 and 2022, the governor’s voucher plan, providing “scholarships” to K-12 students to attend private institutions, failed to pass. Much of the opposition came from members of her own party who feared that vouchers would further degrade the K-12 schools in their rural districts. With about two-thirds of Iowa’s mostly rural counties losing population, more small towns have lost their schools.

Despite this well-founded concern, the governor chose to “primary” members of her own party with representatives who would support her voucher plan. The governor’s proposal provides $5,360 vouchers to each student leaving a public school for a private school. With a cap of 10,000 for the first year, about $55 million would be siphoned away from the public K-12 budgets, serving only 2 percent of our children.

Imagine the consequences for Keokuk County, which lost population in every Census since 1900 and now has only three districts with about 600 students each. There are no private schools. If state subsidies for education are reduced, Keokuk's districts may be required to combine, which means long bus rides for our students and higher costs for transportation. And as towns lose their schools, they lose population.

The Iowa Senate is about to fast track the governor’s voucher proposal to the Iowa House. If they succeed in pushing the governor’s scheme through the legislature, the limit of 10,000 students will be just the start. We can’t afford to allow this to happen. More money for private schools starves public schools.

Ohio started a similar program with a limit of only 3,000 vouchers. The most recent numbers show 69,000 vouchers awarded, with a total of $600 million taken from public school budgets. Likewise, we could see a voucher plan expand, causing public school funding to dwindle. With 42 of our counties lacking private school access, their students' options would be limited to the underfunded public schools or the online K-12 school. Parents, be advised: nothing is free. Public schools rely on public funding.

The LWV of BHB opposes vouchers. We believe public schools are underfunded and vouchers will make matters worse. If you agree that quality K-12 education is important, please contact your legislators and urge them to oppose the governor’s voucher plan. We can do better for our children and grandchildren.

Use this handy tool to find your legislator and contact information: www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

Cherie Dargan is president of the League of Women Voters Black Hawk/Bremer counties.