The group urges education as a top priority this election

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A group opposing Reynolds’ voter policy says next week’s election will be an education crisis in Iowa.

On Wednesday, Development Iowa organized what it calls its “Public Dollars for Public Schools Tour.”

Reynolds said he believes education dollars are best spent by parents rather than school districts. For this reason, he supported a public school policy that would allow parents to use public funds to go to private schools. That bill passed into this last legislative session with some Republicans opposing it.

“It kills me to think that money is being accounted for by the school,” said Sara Weibel, a Hoover Elementary parent of two.

Weibel was one of four speakers. She was worried that the program would take money from public schools to fund private schools and leave her daughter without the teachers she needed.

“When we went online, my daughter fell apart in second grade,” he said. “Now he’s getting the support he needs.”

The author of the program took $55 million in public funding and gave it to 10,000 students to pay for private education. The bill failed to get many rural Republican votes and was eventually passed. Since then, the Governor has targeted Republicans who did not take the policy. Back in May, we told you that the mayor had endorsed Barb McCulla over incumbent Mayor Jon Thorpe. The decision of the proposal.

“I was lost without public schools,” Weibel said. “Our families have helped so much.”

Instead, the Student First Act allowed parents to have more options when making choices about their students’ education, whether it be private, home, school, public, or other learning environments. It was unclear if the bill would return, but Weibel said education needs to be on everyone’s mind.

“I would like to see people willing to take money away from public schools when these public schools are working for our kids,” Weibel said.

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