AEA REFORMS TIED TO OTHER EDUCATION ISSUES
A northwest Iowa lawmaker says state aid to schools, and a teacher pay increase, are tied up because of the Area Education Agency proposal in his chamber.
State Senator Jeff Taylor says he prefers to take more time to deliberate AEA changes.
Senator Taylor doesn’t prefer the AEA reforms that are before the Senate.
Taylor is chair of the Senate Education Committee. He says the Governor’s proposal has been modified in the Senate, but he still prefers the House version.
The Governor wants to place AEA’s under the authority of the Iowa Departlment of Education.
Taylor would prefer that AEAs remain under the control of their own elected boards.
Complicating matters is that AEA reform is also tied to a decision on allowable school budget growth, and a teacher pay proposal.
AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS TO DISTRIBUTE FLAGS
The American Legion Riders, based in Le Mars, are on a mission this spring. Last month, members of the Northwest chapter of the American Legion Riders launched it’s Flags for Vets program. This is an effort to distribute flags and care packages to veterans living in Iowa nursing homes and assisted care facilities. Ridge Mission Captain Chad Poeckes was impressed with the generosity shown when the mission was accepted. Some 22 -hundred dollars was donated at that meeting in late February, to launch the mission. The care packages include a personalized dog tag, a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline wristband and a personal thank you card from the Riders participating in that day’s delivery. Poeckes says once the weather improves, riders will fan out and distribute the flags and care packages.
STATE TAX REVENUE WILL TOP $11 BILLION IN NEXT FISCAL YEAR
A state panel has made a slight reduction, but still predicts the state will collect over 11 BILLION in taxes during the fiscal year that begins July 1st. Legislators will use Friday’s Revenue Estimating Conference report as the basis for state spending plans and it will be cited by Republicans drafting more state tax cuts. Iowa Department of Management director Kraig Paulsen, the governor’s budget chief, is chairman of the panel.
A new member joined the tax predicting panel for Friday’s meeting. Jeff Plagge, a northwest Iowa banker, retired at end of 2023 after serving as the State Superintendent of Banking.
House Democrats say it’s time to make public schools a priority and Friday’s financial report shows there is no reason for Republicans to keep delaying a decision on how much the state will spend on schools.
NEW JAIL IN SIOUX CITY FAILS INSPECTION, PUSHING BACK OPENING DATE AGAIN
It will be at least another month before the new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center is ready to open. L-E-C Authority chairman Ron Wieck says mid-May is now the target date.
Wieck says in a prepared statement that the Authority board is blaming some of the contractors on the project:
The board is also taking issue with other related work at the facility:
Because of the authority’s lack of confidence in Introba, in January the Authority retained its own MEP engineer, Resource Consulting Engineers, LLC, to provide input regarding the mechanical system issues. The new L-E-C did fail its initial inspection by the state. A list of corrections needed was provided and Wieck says he met with Hausmann Construction Wednesday morning to discuss them. He says the authority will continue to press the construction and design parties to complete the LEC without further delay.
FATE OF THE SON OF ERNST’S SOU GUEST NOW KNOWN
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says Israeli Defense Forces have confirmed the son of the woman she invited as a guest for the State of the Union Address was killed by Hamas on October 7th. Ernst invited Hagit (huh-GEET) Chen to the address to highlight the fact Chen and her husband did not know if their son Itay was dead or alive. Ernst says now that they know what happened, she will not forget Itay’s bravery on October 7th, as he defended other innocent civilians from Hamas’s terrorist attacks.
