Today, as the Governor attempts to whitewash her record on literacy, the Iowa Democratic Party is reminding Iowans about the real consequences kids are facing because of Reynolds’ starvation of our education system.
“It’s incredibly ironic that Governor Reynolds is giving herself a pat on the back today when thousands of Iowa kids are being left behind by her budget mismanagement and messed up policy priorities. Our kids deserve a governor who will back up our schools and teachers with a whole-hearted commitment to top quality public schools, not because it’s easy in an election year, but because it’s always the right thing to do,”said Iowa Democratic Party Spokesperson Tess Seger.
Last summer, third graders across Iowa were supposed to participate in a critical reading program, but due to the Reynolds Budget Crisis, the program was defunded and cancelled.
Without the program, more than 9,000 Iowa third graders risked being held back due to reading deficiencies.
The Iowa Board of Education warned that lack of funding could be a “disaster” for the future of Iowa’s third graders, as some studies show that third graders who struggle in reading are more likely to drop out of school in the future.
A Des Moines Register editorial said that officials who killed the summer reading program “failed 9,000 Iowa kids.”