Sigourney School Board Discusses Upcoming Legislative Session

SIGOURNEY – During the Dec. 11 meeting of the Sigourney School Board, the board spoke with Dave Daughton of Rural School Advocates of Iowa and School Administrators of Iowa about changes expected from the Iowa legislature in the coming year and priorities his organizations are pushing for. Daughton stated that one of the key concerns for his organizations is Supplemental State Aid, money given to schools by the state per student, which he wants to be as high as possible. He stated that, last year, SSA received a 2.5% increase. Daughton stated he would prefer a 5% increase or higher, but that that was unrealistic, and that a 3% increase would be somewhat adequate. He stated it was important for the value to be set early in the legislative session, so districts have time to plan budgets.

He also listed fixing staff shortages; expanding quality preschool; expanding operational sharing funding, especially for mental health and school safety; local school board authority; addressing increasing numbers of students in poverty and with mental health problems; more equitable funding formulas between districts; allowing bond referendums to be held outside of November, to keep projects from being pushed back and having higher costs; preventing more damage from being done to the AEAs; cleaning up Educational Savings Account rules, which for example currently require public schools to pay for the transportation of students open enrolled out to private schools; and prioritizing public schools were priorities his groups were lobbying for.

Sigourney High School Principal Shannon Webb asked why Governor Kim Reynolds was against public schools, saying that private schools aren’t any better than Sigourney. Daughton stated that members of the state government will say that there isn’t a conspiracy and that they aren’t against public schools, but that he believes that what legislators call “school choice” is a Conservative-Republican platform that was pushed through for political reasons. He stated that Republicans are moving funds to private schools because they want choices for where to send their kids, but that the problem is that in a lot of areas there are no other options besides public schools. He stated that the prioritizing of private schools is hurting schools that were already failing, and that it gives the appearance that the Iowa government hates public schools and wants to destroy them. He stated that, in his heart, he didn’t want to believe that was true, but that it looks that way sometimes.

Daughton listed out expected legislature changes which would affect schools, including: lowering property taxes, which will affect school budgets; more preschool funding; statewide policies requiring schools to have cell phone bans; a single statewide student information system instead of the current three systems used by different districts, which will allow the state to better collect data, but Daughton opposed because he believes schools should decide what system they use; fixes to chronic absenteeism policies; fixes to side effects of last year’s teacher salary increase mandates, which led to some veteran teachers making the same amount as new teachers; and operational sharing reorganization. He stated that the state would not do anything about school start dates, due to the vacation lobby, meaning Sigourney will not be able to start until August 25 next year; he stated that changing school start dates had been discussed for years and repeatedly failed to pass, that he didn’t believe the state would ever let schools start before the 23rd, and that he thinks it should be a local decision.

Daughton brought up the taskforce that is looking at data to decide the future of the AEAs, which went through massive-restructuring last year. Sigourney Superintendent Kevin Hatfield noted that, next year, schools will have full control over where funds go for educational and technology services and control over 10% of the special education funds, rather than those funds being given to the AEAs. He noted that Sigourney had hesitated to bring in AEA staff for assistance this year, due to having to consider the cost now that things are “pay to play,” and that he can’t find special services besides the AEA. Daughton stated that the previous AEA system led to schools pooling their funding and rural districts like Sigourney being supported by larger districts like Ottumwa, which provided equitable services for all children. He stated that, now that the legislature is “blowing that up,” districts like Sigourney can’t find services. He stated he was not optimistic about the legislature implementing large changes to help the AEAs this year. School board member Steven Seeley noted that the AEAs are required to send bills, even though Sigourney agreed at the start of the year to give funds to Great Prairie AEA, and that this makes it wrongly appear like the AEAs are “double dipping,” which he speculated would deter people from using the AEAs.

Hatfield brought up the Teachers Accelerating Learning Grant, a state program which pays teachers who for increased test scores, and stated he was reluctant to even mention it to staff, because he’s read that programs like this lead to a narrow focus on test scores and teaching for the test instead of giving students a well-rounded education. He stated it “bugged” him on a level he couldn’t explain and that he feared the program would become mandatory.

Daughton stated there was a committee who would likely recommend more school safety steps, like adding security doors or bulletproof glazing to windows, but that legislators don’t understand the cost it takes to implement these things and may not give schools the funds to do so. Daughton hammered home the importance of talking to legislators about these issues.

Later in the meeting, Hatfield stated that the district had been consistently lowering the tax rate, going from $16 per $1,000 of property value a decade ago to $11.30. He stated that Sigourney has an above average unspent balance, meaning the school has a lot of extra money in the bank; Sigourney has an unspent balance of 28%, while the state recommends schools have a balance of 5-15% and not exceed 25%, to ensure money goes towards education. Hatfield stated this number would go down in the future, as the district puts more money towards staff and students.

 Board Treasurer Jessica Meier stated that the certified enrollment for 2023 was 564.3, an increase of ten from 2022, and the certified enrollment from this fall, which will determine funding next year, was 558. She stated this was because of a large graduating class last year. 

Work Based Learning Coordinator Jenny Bell stated she was working to expand WBL programs at Sigourney, especially in the healthcare field, and that she was working with teachers to create a website called Savage Pledge, which will list out the standards students need to know each year for parents.

Hatfield congratulated Shannon Webb on being  awarded the Iowa High School Athletic Association Principal of the Year Award.