Letter to the Editor: Voucher bill

There were many questions regarding the voucher bill that did not get asked at the League of Women Voters legislative coffee on Saturday at the Hyvee Club Room. The first being why are the income limits being lifted in the third year, thus enabling any student wishing to enroll in private school to receive tax dollars to do that.

The second being how are school boards going to be able to set their budgets with the unknown looming? School budgets must be set by April 15th. The deadline for parents to apply for vouchers is June 30th. So, school boards must set their budgets before knowing how many students they may lose to private schools.

Another concerning fact is the administration of this “school choice” program will be by an outside contractor selected by the majority party. What will those administrative costs be? And keep in mind this figure is in addition to the dollars that will be expended for tuition in private schools. In the early years of trying to pass “school choice” legislation the plan was for the State Treasurer and the Department of Management to administer the program. Why are we not using them?

An equally troubling fact is both the bill in the Iowa Senate and the bill in the Iowa House are moving forward without a fiscal note. A fiscal note is prepared by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency that takes into account all expenses the state will incur, revenue related to the bill and the long range ramifications. The figures being used are from the governor’s office; not the Legislative Service Agency. Does this action show fiscal responsibility by the legislature?

When a student graduates from a private school any unused funds must be returned to the Iowa General Fund. What will be the oversight to insure this happens?

Another thing that is not talked about is when a student leaves the public school system that district no longer receives the per pupil allocated SAVE dollars for that student. SAVE dollars are sales tax dollars we pay for education. That figure is $1,229 per student. While SAVE dollars cannot be used for teacher salaries and other general fund expenses, they are precious dollars that can be used for building repairs, building needed new buildings (think our new Berg Middle School), and many other things. School districts will lose those dollars for every student that leaves the district for a private school.

The Hy-Vee Club Room was standing room only. The moderator of the meeting ask for a show of hands of those who supported the bill. Only five hands went up. Were our legislators listening? They were not. This will be confirmed in their votes on Monday when the Senate and The House debate the bill.

Fran Henderson

Newton