HELP!!!!

With the shift in government for the state of Iowa, they are wasting no time making drastic changes. As an employee of and an advocate for education, many of the proposals included in the first bill (the "taxpayers first act") are very concerning to me. This bill is currently be deliberated and could be voted on as early as next week.

You can find specifics on the bill at http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/house-republicans-roll-out-first-bill-taxpayers-first-act but I will just point out what three areas are particularly alarming to me. They are below, in no particular order.

1. Completely eliminate state-funded 4-year-old preschool  

2. Eliminate the Iowa Core Curriculum, and create new standards 

this year.

3. Cut funding of AEAs by an additional $10 million, effective this semester

As a disclosure, I should insert this is purely my opinion and I am not knowledgeable on everything this entails. However, the state had just started a state-funded 4 year old preschool program. What this means is that at public schools, preschool is accessible at virtually no charge. This "head start" allows so many children the opportunity to learn the basics and to prepare them socially, as well as academically, for kindergarten. To me, it seems like a critical program that could potentially have a great impact on the long term success of our students if we continue to fund it. Without the "free" program, many low and middle income families may not have the access to that quality of education for their preschool children. 

Next - Iowa Core curriculum - again, another new movement. This is the one I probably know the least about but it is something that I think has potential. My understanding is that it is to help prepare students not only for college but also for REAL LIFE....to help them to be able to critically think and have skills necessary to be successful! When looking at a curriculum, how can we make it applicable to what students NEED to know to be independent and successful. It seems silly to spend this time and money training and implementing the program (which went effective July 2010 I believe) and then to turn around and change it.

Last is the cut to the AEA. As someone who has worked in special education, I have worked personally with AEA personnel. These are individuals that are trained and incredibly knowledgeable in specific fields. If we eliminate another huge part of what they do, then who will provide those services? You can google your local AEA agency to see all that they do from offer training/continuing education services to speech therapy to career planning. 

Like I said, I do not know a lot about these but when I heard about it this morning, I was very alarmed that such major cuts were coming at EDUCATION. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE voice your concerns and share with others asap so that our representatives know that education isn't an area we are willing to sacrifice. In the previous posting below, you can see how to contact the appropriate people.

(For those of you who are in Iowa but are in a different part of the state, here is contact info for the whole state)

Name	District	Party	County	Email
Bill Anderson	27	Republican	Woodbury	bill.anderson@legis.state.ia.us
Robert Bacon	5	Republican	Story	robert.bacon@legis.state.ia.us
Merlin Bartz	6	Republican	Worth	merlin.bartz@legis.state.ia.us
Daryl Beall	25	Democrat	Webster	daryl.beall@legis.state.ia.us
Jerry Behn	24	Republican	Boone	jerry.behn@legis.state.ia.us
Rick Bertrand	1	Republican	Woodbury	rick.bertrand@legis.state.ia.us
Dennis Black	21	Democrat	Jasper	dennis.black@legis.state.ia.us
Nancy J. Boettger	29	Republican	Shelby	nancy.boettger@legis.state.ia.us
Joe Bolkcom	39	Democrat	Johnson	joe.bolkcom@legis.state.ia.us
Tod Bowman	13	Democrat	Jackson	tod.bowman@legis.state.ia.us
Mark Chelgren	47	Republican	Wapello	mark.chelgren@legis.state.ia.us
Thomas G. Courtney	44	Democrat	Des Moines	thomas.courtney@legis.state.ia.us
Swati A. Dandekar	18	Democrat	Linn	swati.dandekar@legis.state.ia.us
Jeff Danielson	10	Democrat	Black Hawk	jeff.danielson@legis.state.ia.us
Dick L. Dearden	34	Democrat	Polk	dick.dearden@legis.state.ia.us
Bill Dix	9	Republican	Butler	bill.dix@legis.state.ia.us
William A. Dotzler, Jr.	11	Democrat	Black Hawk	bill.dotzler@legis.state.ia.us
Robert E. Dvorsky	15	Democrat	Johnson	robert.dvorsky@legis.state.ia.us
Joni Ernst	48	Republican	Montgomery	joni.ernst@legis.state.ia.us
Randy Feenstra	2	Republican	Sioux	randy.feenstra@legis.state.ia.us
Gene Fraise	46	Democrat	Lee	eugene.fraise@legis.state.ia.us
Sandra Greiner	45	Republican	Washington	sandra.greiner@legis.state.ia.us
Michael E. Gronstal	50	Democrat	Pottawattamie	mike.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us
James F. Hahn	40	Republican	Muscatine	james.hahn@legis.state.ia.us
Shawn Hamerlinck	42	Republican	Scott	shawn.hamerlinck@legis.state.ia.us
Tom Hancock	16	Democrat	Dubuque	tom.hancock@legis.state.ia.us
Jack Hatch	33	Democrat	Polk	jack.hatch@legis.state.ia.us
Robert M. Hogg	19	Democrat	Linn	rob.hogg@legis.state.ia.us
Wally E. Horn	17	Democrat	Linn	wally.horn@legis.state.ia.us
Hubert Houser	49	Republican	Pottawattamie	hubert.houser@legis.state.ia.us
Pam Jochum	14	Democrat	Dubuque	pam.jochum@legis.state.ia.us
David Johnson	3	Republican	Osceola	david.johnson@legis.state.ia.us
Tim L. Kapucian	20	Republican	Benton	tim.kapucian@legis.state.ia.us
Steve Kettering	26	Republican	Sac	steve.kettering@legis.state.ia.us
John P. (Jack) Kibbie	4	Democrat	Palo Alto	john.kibbie@legis.state.ia.us
Matthew McCoy	31	Democrat	Polk	matt.mccoy@legis.state.ia.us
Paul McKinley	36	Republican	Lucas	paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us
Herman C. Quirmbach	23	Democrat	Story	herman.quirmbach@legis.state.ia.us
Amanda Ragan	7	Democrat	Cerro Gordo	amanda.ragan@legis.state.ia.us
Tom Rielly	38	Democrat	Mahaska	tom.rielly@legis.state.ia.us
Brian Schoenjahn	12	Democrat	Fayette	brian.schoenjahn@legis.state.ia.us
Dr. Joe M. Seng	43	Democrat	Scott	joe.seng@legis.state.ia.us
James A. Seymour	28	Republican	Harrison	james.seymour@legis.state.ia.us
Roby Smith	41	Republican	Scott	roby.smith@legis.state.ia.us
Steven J. Sodders	22	Democrat	Marshall	steve.sodders@legis.state.ia.us
Kent Sorenson	37	Republican	Warren	kent.sorenson@legis.state.ia.us
Pat Ward	30	Republican	Polk	pat.ward@legis.state.ia.us
Mary Jo Wilhelm	8	Democrat	Howard	mary.jo.wilhelm@legis.state.ia.us
Brad Zaun	32	Republican	Polk	brad.zaun@legis.state.ia.us