More Red Flags at Zach Lahn’s Shady Kansas School: Underpaid Teachers, Rejecting Kids With Disabilities
Lahn was exposed for running the Kansas school $4.5 million into debt and bad-mouthing Iowa public schools in the process
DES MOINES – New reporting from Iowa Starting Line exposes more red flags with Zach Lahn’s unaccredited Wonder School in Kansas, which he touted as “the model for reinventing education” in Iowa: teachers are underpaid, tuition is too expensive for families to afford, and it turns away students with disabilities.
According to Iowa Starting Line, teachers at Lahn’s Wonder School make an “estimated $40,000 a year. That’s below the average for teachers in Kansas” and in the bottom 10 percent of teachers’ salaries nationwide. Tuition costs $12,000 a year, and Lahn even bragged that some parents “need to take a second job … [to] find a way to pay the tuition.” In addition to the school’s financial troubles, it doesn’t “serve most students with disabilities.” That aligns with Lahn’s own record — during the primary, he said the question of Iowa private schools accepting students with disabilities is “the wrong debate to be having.”
Lahn was also caught lying to Iowans about his continued involvement with the Kansas school. In May, after he was exposed for spending more time in Kansas than in Iowa, Lahn claimed he was “not involved in the operation of” the Wonder School anymore. But the Kansas Reflector reported that he still serves as president of the school and even “put his name to 15 promotional emails” in July to prospective parents. Lahn bad-mouthed Iowa public schools to promote the Kansas school in those emails, saying it “operated on a different level” than Iowa public schools.
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Millions of dollars in debt, underpaid teachers, unaffordable tuition for working families, and a policy of turning away kids with disabilities — this is Zach Lahn’s self-professed ‘model’ for Iowa schools. Lahn’s record on education is a complete failure, and teachers, parents, and students can’t trust him to protect public schools as governor while lying about his continued commitments in Kansas.”
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