REMINDER: The GOP Gov Field Supports Unaccountable Private School Vouchers
DES MOINES – This National Teacher Appreciation Day, instead of investing in Iowa’s once top-ranked public schools, the Republicans running for governor are backing Kim Reynolds’ unaccountable private school vouchers that rip tax dollars away from public schools, drive up costs, and strain the state budget to foot the bill for wealthy families.
According to the Des Moines Register, 99% of Iowa’s private schools are now funded by taxpayer dollars, with vouchers projected to cost Iowa taxpayers $350 million in the next year alone. That hasn’t stopped the field from embracing vouchers that fund private schools with zero accountability and undermine the future of public education in Iowa.
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Every Republican running for governor has not only lined up behind Kim Reynolds’ attacks on public education, but has promised to take the private school voucher scheme even further, pushing for even less accountability. The future of our public schools is on the ballot in November — and Iowa teachers know they can’t trust Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews to protect and improve public education.”
REMINDER: The field supports Reynolds’ school vouchers and attacks on public education:
- Randy Feenstra backed Reynolds’ unaccountable school voucher scheme in the state legislature and voted in Congress to further shift tens of billions of taxpayer dollars away from public schools to unaccountable private schools.
- Adam Steen wants to go even further in gutting funding for Iowa’s public schools — which are already chronically underfunded — by $520 million per year, effectively slashing over $1,000 per student.
- Steen has praised Reynolds’ private school vouchers and opposes oversight for school vouchers, saying “we’ve got to protect that program … from administrative overreach.”
- Zach Lahn supports unaccountable school vouchers and claimed Iowa is “spending too much money on education,” leaving the door open to further attacks on our public schools.
- Brad Sherman and Eddie Andrews both praised Reynolds’ vouchers that are undermining the future of public education in Iowa.
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