Letter to the Editor: Education is the foundation

To the Editor:

During the Governor’s 2022 Condition of the State address, a $1,000 bonus was unveiled for teachers who worked through the pandemic. This is a great first step. However, it was not mentioned that the funds paying for these bonuses came from the American Rescue Plan created by President Biden but only voted for by one of Iowa’s four U.S. Representatives.

The bonus is a good start, but should be followed with permanent measures to reward our teachers. Restoring collective bargaining, increasing the raises to more than the cost of living, providing art and music funding, and reducing class sizes are a few measures that would help all teachers. Teachers need higher salaries overall, not just a one-time bonus.

It was also proposed to increase the number of kids per childcare worker. For two-year olds, the number would increase from six to eight (+33%), and for three-year olds, the number would increase from eight to 10 (+25%). How would you like to have your workload increased by 25% to 33% without a raise?

Higher wages once again would bring more child care teachers to Iowa, not burdening them.

Iowa’s Senate president opened up the session with an attack on teachers and the media with claims of a “sinister agenda” to normalize deviant behavior against children. Previously, he said that teachers who taught lessons on diversity and inclusion should be prosecuted. We need to respect our teachers, not villainize them. Iowa needs to recognize its diversity and thank our diverse workforce for working through the pandemic.

Education is the foundation for our kids and for the state. Our education gave Iowa the best workforce. Now is the time to permanently raise teacher wages.

Ann Fields
Lansing