Make public education a priority

To the editor:

The arguments this year in the Iowa Legislature, and now afterward, over the funding of education are disturbing. I always have thought I lived in a state where education is valued, where we all wanted top-quality education for all of our children. If this is true, why have we elected legislators and a governor that want to skimp and save on our public education?

We are the richest nation in the world and Iowa is among the richest states in the U.S. and yet we want to lower taxes and cut education. Teaching is one of the lowest paid professions and a higher level of allocation to the schools could make our schools better. The argument that paying less will make everyone work harder is not true. Spending does correlate to the quality of education.

The argument should be about how we can put more resources into our schools so they have the leeway to try new programs to enrich our student's lives. We need to pay our teachers a better salary so we can attract and keep the best.

If we support the schools, we must also put the candidates that support the schools into the legislature. The two are connected!

Katy Hansen

Iowa City