FACT CHECK: Zach Lahn Got Schooled on Education in Iowa During Last Night’s Debate
DES MOINES – In last night’s debate, Kansas carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn proved just how out-of-touch he is from Iowa teachers and parents and spent the night lying about his record of attacking public schools.
From open enrollment to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies, Lahn showed he doesn’t understand the reality of education in Iowa — raising serious questions about his commitment to Iowa schools.
What Lahn got wrong on education:
CLAIM: “Parents deserve to have more say where their kids go to school.”
FACT: Iowa already has open enrollment and kids can attend public schools outside of the district they live in.
CLAIM: “Iowa needs to be the first state in the country that has nonpunitive off-ramps for these kids to get the one-on-one and small group help that they truly need.”
FACT: Iowa offered similar specialized teaching services for years before Kim Reynolds and her allies in the legislature — including Lahn’s running mate — gutted school funding. Despite that, Lahn claims that Iowa “is spending too much money on education” and said he’s “grateful” for everything Reynolds has done.
CLAIM: “I spent a better part of a decade working to build schools across the country.”
FACT: Lahn has actually worked as a board member and investor in a sex toy company while running a private school in Kansas into a whopping $4.5 million of debt. Before that, he spent his career as a paid political operative, working for corporate polluters and running a campaign to block Medicaid expansion in Montana.
CLAIM: “I want to be the biggest advocate for public school kids in the state.”
FACT: Jaw-dropping dishonesty. As Rob Sand put it, “I don’t think you’re going to be the biggest advocate for public school students over a guy who sends his kids there when you were running advertisements saying that Marxists have hijacked the curriculum in Iowa. Zach, I’m pretty sure that that’s just more evidence that you don’t spend enough time in Iowa.”
CLAIM: “There are instances where political agendas are pushed in classrooms. It’s just true. You can go online and see it.”
FACT: If Lahn was talking about his private school in Kansas, yes! It was reported that Lahn has used his Kansas school to push far-right political ideologies onto kids from controversial figures like Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson.
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