(SD 50-Council Bluffs and Carter Lake)
Parents, employers and others in our district repeatedly tell me that helping our young people excel in education is the key to a prosperous Iowa future. Community and business leaders agree that our great schools are a top reason people move to Iowa and invest in our state.
Iowa students do well because they have high-quality teachers. After all, the ability of the classroom teacher is one of the most important factors in improving student achievement.
Other states understand the advantage Iowa has thanks to our reputation for great local schools. They also know Iowa teachers are not paid as well as teachers in most other states. That’s why out-of-state school districts come to Iowa to recruit our student teachers, and to lure away our experienced teachers. This problem isn’t news. For the last 20 years, the Legislature has been promising to reverse the decline in teacher salaries.
What is new is that this week we finally kept that promise when the Senate voted 44-5 to raise the average pay of Iowa teachers from 40th in the nation to 25th in the nation in two years. We will do this by increasing annual state spending on local schools by $70 million in the 2007-2008 school year and by $75 million the following year.
The legislation includes funding for pilot projects to study the most effective way to reward and encourage teachers who excel at increasing their students’ achievement. It also makes innovative changes in continuing education for Iowa teachers by connecting these activities to local school district goals.
When added to the $108 million increase in basic state aid to local schools approved last month, Iowa’s students are on track to benefit from the largest increase in state funds for education in more than a decade.
This bill next moves to the Iowa House. Please contact your state Representative for their support!
Find your legislator at: http://capwiz.com/nea/ia/directory/statedir.tt?state=IA&lvl=state
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