In an attempt to frame himself as pro-education, Pat Grassley has spent several recent columns
touting his House education bills. He went so far as to write, “For Iowa House Republicans,
education remains a top priority.” Harming public education appears to be a top priority for
Governor Reynolds and Pat Grassley. Please consider the following, and this is in no way a
complete list:
- The voucher program is costing Iowans much more than projected, taking money away from
public schools, and not helping rural communities. A study from Brown and Princeton
Universities found Iowa private school tuition rose a staggering 21-24% after the
implementation of the voucher program. - In comparison, state funding for education continues to lag, with Pat Grassley and House
Republicans giving public education only a 2.5% increase in Supplemental State Aid
support. That number, besides being behind inflation, stands in stark contrast to the net
tuition increase of Iowa private schools. - While on the subject, curriculum should be decided by education professionals within the
Department of Education and our teachers, not legislated by elected officials. Also, arming
teachers and school staff is escalating, unsafe, reactionary, and doesn’t address mental
issues of school violence. - Our successful Area Education Agencies have been significantly defunded and hundreds of
their employees are now leaving the field and even the state. Educators and parents are
beyond concerned about meeting student need this fall. I appreciate Senator Salmon
listening to her constituents and voting NO to defund the AEA, but since the majority of
Republicans, including Pat Grassley, voted YES to defund and destabilize the AEA, that’s
what passed. What a disappointment to say the least.
After all of this harm, after seeing Pat Grassley and most of the Republicans not listening to
what common-sense Iowans are saying, I have had enough. I proudly serve my community as
an educator and a member of the W-SR school board. But after the damage of this past
legislative session, I am taking my fight for education to the Iowa House. And too many other
critical issues facing Iowans remain unaddressed, especially involving health care.
- Nearly a third of Iowa’s counties have no provider for OB-GYN services. Infant mortality
rose 30% in Iowa in 2022. If the fetal heartbeat abortion bill, which Pat Grassley voted
for, goes into effect, both of those numbers will continue to rise. I support a woman’s
current right of reproductive choice in consultation with her medical provider and
supporters. - Iowa ranks at or near the bottom of the country in mental health metrics – including the
number of residential beds, psychiatrists, and mental health workers. - Iowa is second in the country for cancer incidence, and the only state where the rate of
cancer is rising. And it is not because we have a higher median age; we don’t. We have
poor water, chemical exposure, cancer clusters, and insufficient access to preventative
health care. - Former Governor Branstad’s unilateral privatization of Medicaid in 2015 has proven to
be a failed experiment. In 2021, the State Auditor reported a 900% increase in cases of
judge-determined unlawfully denied services after switching to Managed Care
Organization (MCO) providers. MCOs offer reduced oversight, transparency, due-
process of complaints, slow payments, and poorer healthcare coverage for Iowans. We
need to reconsider our MCO program partnership and focus on providing patient-
prioritized healthcare services instead of reducing Iowan’s eligibility for coverage.
Bottom line, there is so much more we need to be doing for Iowans rather than damaging the
public education system. I am always interested in hearing from constituents. Visit
ShawnForIowa.com to learn more about my positions on issues and how to contact me.
