MPCSD legislative priorities focus on teachers and funding

MT. PLEASANT — Like many other education advocacy groups in the state, Mt. Pleasant Community School District recently decided on their legislative priorities.

“One of the things that we do during this time of year is take a look at the legislative resolutions that the School Board Association puts forward,” Henriksen explained at a committee meeting preceding the school boards regular meeting the following week.

According to Henriksen, the association asks school districts for feedback on various legislative topics and then build their legislative agenda with that information in mind.

At the Monday, Aug. 14 school board meeting, the MPCSD board narrowed down their focus for legislative priorities to the following four topics: teacher recruitment and licensure, teacher professional development and retention, supplemental state aid, and bond issues.

According to Henriksen, teacher recruitment and licensure was a priority for the district last year, as well.

“I think we have to continue to make it a priority,” he said. “We have to get the pipeline refilled for teachers and it is a struggle right now. We need all the help we can get from our legislature as much as we can get, right now.”

He also stated that retention went along with that priority.

As far as supplemental state aid, Henriksen says he feels it has been very much “you get what you get. There hasn’t been much negotiating on that.”

When it comes to making bond issues a priority, Henriksen says that the issue goes further than MPCSD potentially seeking bonds, but raises questions about local control.

Recently, the window for running bond issues narrowed greatly. Formerly districts could run bond issues up to four times a year, but recent legislation has restricted that to only once a year.

“They really tightened the screws on all of that,” Henriksen said. “Maybe it doesn’t need to be four times a year, but I feel like they just continue to take those decisions out of the hands of local people who are elected to run the school district.”

For board member Angie Blint, the issue of only running bonds once a year suppresses forward momentum.

“It pushes on forward progress, and you lose your momentum when you can't, because everything else is moving so fast and then things just become more expensive,” Blint said. “And when it takes longer and those costs just keep continuing. So it just makes everything more expensive.”

Henriksen agreed that the bond issue is not only a problem concerning costs, but raised concerns about workforce, also.

“Now the window is so narrow and all the school districts are trying to fit in this narrow window and there are only so many contractors to bid on these projects,” he said. “With everyone in the same window, it’s just going to drive prices up.”

“I don't know that there would ever be any traction on this, but It's important,” Henriksen said.

After the board’s approval of these legislative priorities, MPCSD sent their list to the School Board Association to take into consideration.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com