FORT MADISON – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds weighed in heavily Wednesday morning after hearing about the Fort Madison school board’s decision Monday night to allow shared athletic agreements to expire at the end of the 2022-23 athletic calendar.
The move to not extend agreements with Holy Trinity Catholic and Central Lee was approved 4-3 with Board President Josh Wykert, and board members Dianne Hope, Mio Santiago, and Brad Menke all voting against extending the agreements.
In an interview with Pen City Current Wednesday afternoon, Reynolds called the move “ridiculous” and said those who voted for the measure were letting politics value more than students.
“I think it’s ridiculous and unfortunate that four school board members would put politics ahead of the kids,” Reynolds said.
“This is an opportunity to collaborate on behalf of the kids. If they want to be mad at me, that’s fine, but to punish kids on something that isn’t based on fact?”
The Students First Act signed by Reynolds in January allows Education Savings Accounts that families can use to help pay for tuition at private schools up to $7,400 initially. The tuition “vouchers” are phased in over three years based on grade and income compared to 300% of the poverty level in year one and 400% of the poverty level in year two. The third year of the program would have no income limitations.
The law also provides $1,205 "backfill" per student to the public schools for every student in the district that is enrolled in a private school. That funding would begin in the next school year, according to state officials, and would amount to $355,000 per year in additional funding for the Fort Madison district.
Reynolds said if the district is going to punish the kids, then maybe the state should look at allowing the $355,000 to follow the students as well, to help offset the costs of the athletic programs.
The move would have to come from legislators, she said, and would be open to full debate of the House and Senate. Reynolds said she wasn’t there yet on any counter move, but the district needs to know she’s serious.
“I feel sorry for the parents that are in agony out there. They need to stay engaged and push back. We’re going to be there to help,” she said.
“I can tell you Ankeny has shared agreements, too, and they voted the same night to maintain their agreements. Fort Madison is the only school in the state that has put politics ahead of the kids and is punishing kids in a program that was working.
“We need to look into that and see what our options are.”
Fort Madison School Board President Josh Wykert said after Monday’s meeting that he was aware the state was watching what was happening with the Fort Madison vote.
"We’ve been on their radar for a bit now. Whatever comes, we don’t control, so why worry about it,” he said.
Reynolds said she didn’t have specifics on the district or Holy Trinity regarding which programs are shared and why one school chooses to share one program and not another.
“I don’t know all the circumstances there and it would seem like you can’t have it both ways. But we have to look at this thing wholistically,” she said. “I don’t know the specifics of it, so I’m kind of leery weighing in on that.”
At Monday’s meeting, board member Dianne Hope said the district is looking at potentially losing $6,400 per student that transfers over to Holy Trinity. Reynolds said there’s more to the per student funding mechanism than just the supplemental aid formula.
“Here’s the thing. It’s per pupil funding and that funding follows the student. But it’s actually about $17,000 in total funding that comes into the public school per pupil when you figure in federal, state, and local aid and only $6,400 is leaving. The rest of the funding stays with the district,” Reynolds said.
“And they no longer have to teach that child. They no longer have the student in the school and use no resources. The larger point is they lose $6,400 of $17,000. The lion’s share still stays with the district.”
She said that has to be factored in with the $1,200 the district will get back annually.
“That’s a one-time dollar amount they will get every year.”
With the Students First Act just entering its first year with the 2023-24 school year, Reynolds said she will be watching closely to see how the program unfolds. But she said the divisiveness needs to come to an end.
“We’ll learn a lot as we roll this out. We’ll learn about the fear tactics, and those who say this program will destroy public schools. There is just no data to support that. The majority of families in the state will stay with public schools.”
“It’s critical that our public schools are successful, and I believe this law will elevate all education in the state. But it can’t continue to be us vs. them, Democrats vs. Republicans, public vs. private. We need to operate as one system and focus to make sure we’re providing the best education for our children.”
She said the state has a lot of work to do to once again be one of the best education states in the nation.
“We are not where we should be. Most of the other states dropped so ours raised, but we didn’t see a lot of movement in our scores. We just need to continue to make that a priority for our kids.”
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