DES MOINES, Iowa — Governor Reynolds’ plan to increase starting salaries for teachers in the state, along with changing the dynamics of area education agencies in the state, saw it’s first official action Wednesday.
The Iowa House did not move the bill out of an education subcommittee, with Rep. Skyler Wheeler saying he and the other republicans need to have further conversations. It did pass out of the Iowa Senate education subcommittee just an hour later.
Parents, teachers, AEA employees, school officials and lobbyists all voiced their opinions on the bill during the hour-long meeting.
“You cannot uproot a system that has been embedded for 50 years in three weeks,” said Heather Sievers, a parent against the legislation. “So the reality is, if you care about reform and change and doing it in a responsible manner, we have to slow down, get the voices at the table that were not at the table when this was written.”
“I’ve spent countless hours all around Iowa listening directly to families, hearing from providers who want to help our most vulnerable children. And there are difficulties. The landscape is difficult to navigate. There are disconnects. Now in some places in the state, it’s working well. But in others it’s not,” said Kelly Garcia, the director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.