S-N Editorial

"Reform" is a loaded word when it comes to politics. It can be tacked onto most nouns, from health care to taxes to anything in between.

We here in the Hawkeye State have been beaten over the head with "education reform" over the past month. The governor's Students First Act was rammed through the Legislature, and thanks to procedural tactics by the Republican majority, it received little debate and no amendments.

Iowans shouldn't be surprised and those who oppose the bill can save their feigned disdain. Republicans hold a 28-seat majority over Democrats in the House and an 18-seat edge in the Senate. Both chambers are just two large rubberstamps for Gov. Kim Reynolds' agenda.

Yes, elections have consequences. Gov. Kim Reynolds had virtually zero chance of losing her re-election bid this year thanks to the incredibly weak Iowa Democrat Party. She made no secrets about what she wanted to do once she waltzed to a second term, and "school choice" was chief among her top priorities. Anyone with a mailbox, TV, radio or internet connection would have known that.

Reynolds' landslide election victory all but cemented vouchers' fate here in Iowa. If you toe the Republican Party line, they are not called vouchers but rather "education savings accounts" (ESAs). Either way, taxpayer dollars will now be available to private K-12 schools to the tune of $345 million per year by 2027.

Many questions still abound. How much will private schools raise tuition now that they have a pipeline of sweet, sweet public money? How much will it cost to operate the ESA program? Will there be a vacuum of students leaving public schools for private options? What about students in counties without a private option, like Osceola and Dickinson? Private schools can reject students with learning disabilities and other special needs – how is that school choice?

Reynolds has shrugged off these concerns and her minions in the Statehouse say there's simply nothing to worry about. Elections have consequences, they've explained ad nauseam, and they're right. This is what Iowans voted for.

The only thing we can do now is wait and see. Educators in Iowa's K-12 public schools have noted there are some positive things about the Students First Act. Certain categorical funds can now be utilized for other expenses once initial requirements are met, and public school districts will get an additional $1,205 in funding for students receiving ESAs who live within the district's boundaries. Still, many fear this will lead to a slippery slope. K-12 education funding in Iowa already falls behind the rate of inflation and lawmakers don't seem too concerned about changing that anytime soon.

Iowans unhappy with how things are shaking out in Des Moines can do something about it at the ballot box. Unchecked power in a democracy rarely leads to sound policy, but until people are willing to acknowledge that, we'll get what we vote for.

That's how it's always worked and that's how it will continue working.