Progress Iowa executive director Matt Sinovic issued the following statement in response to the Iowa Senate passing House File 813, the expansion of charter schools:
“Iowa families want their children to receive the best education possible. Allowing shadowy, out of state charter schools run rampant and profit from Iowa tax dollars undermines our public schools and chips away at the foundation of what makes our state great.”
“Our public tax dollars belong in public schools. Period. Iowans don’t want their hard earned dollars diverted to corporations that will not be held accountable by local school boards. This extremely flawed bill would open pandora’s box, defund our public schools, expose our children to harm due to lack of accountability, and would lead to more segregated schools.”
“There’s a reason professional educators, administrators, and Iowa families have worked together to oppose this legislation. Our students deserve better than to have their future shortchanged by corporations whose top priority is to fatten their bottom line.”
Additional Information:
The Daily Nonpareil: School officials: Charter schools unneeded, may divert public funds
“Millions and millions of dollars have been funneled away from traditional public schools to fund charter schools that underperformed, failed and closed.”
“Also, allowing outside (out-of-state) entities to come into our state with an interest in getting a hold of public dollars is a concern. The ultimate goal in these efforts is usually to turn charter efforts into profit-bearing schools, which is just another attempt to privatize public money.”
– Eric Knost, Lewis Central Community School District Superintendent
“House File 813, a bill to defund public schools and use it to fund private, charter schools will deprive our students of the educational experience they deserve,” Sellers said, calling the bill “a way to segregate schools again.”
– Lyric Sellers, junior at East High School in Des Moines
The Daily Iowan: Iowa should not promote charter schools
“The cornerstone of conservative education and civil-rights policy has been this idea that charter schools are the answer to helping close the achievement gap between white and Black students. This simply is not the case, as rather than closing the gap, charter schools end up widening it.”
– Shahab Khan, Opinions Columnist, The Daily Iowan
The Perry News: Bubba’s charter-school ignorance no joke
“This is not wise decision making. It will not do anything to make our public schools stronger. Hands off public tax dollars for charter schools that operate like private schools, making money for their “founders” and using our children without any accountability to our local school board.”
– Judy Kading, Greenfield
Quad-City Times: This isn’t the Iowa way
“This is not the Iowa way. It would only serve to weaken the public school system which exists to provide education for all students, not just a hand-picked and specially-funded few.”
– Donna Larson, Davenport
