Iowa's mixed-up priorities
And a plea for mercy
If you saw the news reports last week about the rising use of taxpayer money in Iowa to pay for private school expenses, I would encourage you to pay attention to one number above all: 1,905.
That’s the number of Iowa kids who were going to public schools last year who switched to private institutions this year, using the financial aid program that Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans created two years ago.
That 1,905 figure—which doesn’t account for incoming kindergarten students—is a small share of the number of families using the financial aid. Still, it is significant. Here’s why: Iowa Republicans have sold this plan as a school choice law, an antidote to “failing public schools” that, they say, provides families the financial wherewithal to escape to a different school.
Don’t buy it. Just look at the numbers.
The vast majority of the money is going to families that were already in private schools or were headed that way, anyway. Randy Richardson, retired associate executive director of the Iowa State Education Association, estimates in a Bleeding Heartland post that 81% of the nearly 28,000 students who are using the vouchers for the 2024-25 school year were already enrolled in private schools.
I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating: This is a reimbursement program.
If this was truly a program designed to give people the financial ability to leave “failing public schools,” wouldn’t that 1,905 figure be higher? (It’s less than half of 1% of public enrollment). And wouldn’t the incentives be larger for the people enrolled in public schools than for those already attending private institutions? If the idea was to help families “trapped” in public schools, wouldn’t lawmakers have sweetened the pot for them to switch?
Initially, the governor proposed a more limited plan. She focused on incentives for students attending at-risk public schools. But that changed. Now, this is simply a reimbursement program.
State data make clear utilization of this program is rising as income restrictions are gradually lifted. The estimates are that the state will spend $218 million on this program during the present school year.
I don’t doubt this is having an impact on public schools, whose fixed costs don’t decline even if enrollment does. And as Richardson points out, the effect is being felt more in some urban districts, like Davenport, than it is in some public schools in rural areas where there are few, if any, private alternatives.
Still, 92% of Iowa students are choosing to go to a public school.
Public school enrollment, even though it is slightly lower this year, topped 480,000 kids, while private school enrollment is at about 39,000, which is up from the year before.
Yet, the governor’s proposed 2% increase in basic state aid this year is even less than what was enacted last year. It’s almost like she’s forgotten inflation now that the election is over.
Legislative Republicans have shortchanged public education for years, but they have created a new private school reimbursement program under the guise of “school choice” that leaves less money for the classrooms where the vast majority of Iowa kids are educated.
Those are some mixed up priorities.
Iowa lawmakers frown on traffic safety
Once again, some Iowa legislators are trying to make our streets more dangerous.
House Republicans advanced a bill out of a subcommittee this week that would further restrict automated traffic cameras. The bill, HF 3, would stop local governments from contracting with third party vendors to collect fines. Rep. Henry Stone, who proposed the bill, complained about out of state companies collecting the fines.
This is nonsense. The state of Iowa contracts with out-of-state companies all the time. Reynolds’ government reorganization plan was influenced by an out-of-state contractor.
The truth is, some legislative Republicans just want to kill automated traffic cameras, even though local officials say they make their streets safer.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law that severely restricted the use of these automated cameras, and of 139 applications across the state, only 11 were approved.
Some of the denials were in Davenport, and I can tell you what has happened since then. People are driving faster in these areas. All you need to do is visit these streets and you can see it with your own eyes.
Already, we have to deal with an epidemic of people running red lights; and now, some Iowa Republicans are sending the message that they’re OK with even more reckless driving.
Talk about mixed up priorities.
Abandoning the blue
President Donald Trump’s decision to grant broad pardons to more than 1,500 people who were convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes is apparently causing some hand wringing among some Senate Republicans. Or so says the Associated Press. Not surprisingly, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst weren’t among those who were said to be concerned.
As they did when Trump tried to steal the 2020 election, Iowa’s two senators have ducked for cover. This, even though Grassley has previously acknowledged (when Trump’s approval ratings were low) that the Jan. 6 riot was a “disgraceful, violent insurrection (that) overwhelmed law enforcement, disrupted the people’s business and led to five lives lost.”
Among the dead: Police officers who tried to protect members of Congress. Some 140 cops were also injured. But these days, Iowa’s senators aren’t interested in backing the blue.
Instead, when reporters approached him about Trump letting all these people off the hook, Grassley said to reporters: “Aren’t you going to ask me about the Biden pardons?”
A plea for mercy
Over the last few days, I’ve tried to figure out what to say as our nation convulses; how to respond to Donald Trump’s recklessness and cruelty in his first days in office; at the silent complicity of his sycophants in Congress.
My words fail. Thankfully, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s words do not.
The Episcopalian bishop delivered a sermon at a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, where Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their wives were present.
Many of you have already seen this, but if you haven’t seen it, you should watch this extraordinary moment.
In her sermon, Budde made a simple plea for mercy. Here is an excerpt:
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops, and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals, they pay taxes and are good neighbors….
Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.
This is God’s love faithfully expressed.
Budde’s words are a reminder that mercy and love are within the grasp of all of us. They are gifts to be shared with others, and others should be reminded—and encouraged—that they, too, can exercise these gifts.
You’ll notice that Trump and some in his entourage are silently derisive. Afterward, Trump groused, “I didn’t think it was a good service.” He said even worse on social media.
But to me, the reactions of Trump and his crowd were less interesting than the dignity of the bishop.
Her plea, her eloquence, her quiet love of humanity and duty to God were what made this moment truly notable. And while her request was specifically directed at Trump, I also heard an exhortation to the rest of us: To show love and mercy to all of those who are in fear.
These are among God’s gifts that sustain humanity. They are gifts that can’t be taken from us, and they are gifts that can act as a bulwark against the threats that now confront our nation.
I know, at some point, the bishop’s words will fade from public consciousness. But at this moment, they inspire me.
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Her words were true and inspirational. Thankful she had the opportunity to express them.
The bishop should minister wisdom and strength to leaders and groups that are practicing anticipatory obedience