Response by Tammy Wawro, President of the Iowa State Education Association to

DES MOINES, IA (01/13/2015)(readMedia)-- The Iowa State Education Association's (ISEA) priorities for Iowa students have always been clear. Every student, regardless of ZIP code is entitled to a secure, healthy and robust educational environment so they are able to learn. This means funding must be adequate, equitable and sustainable and 6 percent State Supplemental Aid (SSA) for the FY 2016-17 and FY 2017-18 school years is absolutely necessary to meet this goal.

While we applaud the Governor for making anti-bullying legislation a priority, we deeply regret he has ignored the details in how he is proposing to fund Iowa's K-12 public education system. Currently, Iowa ranks 35th in the nation in educational funding per student which is $1,612 below the national average.

Iowa's schools cannot function on a wing and a prayer. We have seen the results of a slight-of-hand approach when the Governor claims he wants our public schools to be the best, yet still underfunds them. It seems to us that he can only tout our 1:1 technology schools and their opportunities for advanced student learning if he funds them properly so they have up- to-date equipment; he can only support our STEM program if he provides the program with enough tools in the labs to teach; and he can only brag about our Advanced Placement classes if he provides the funds for new text books which reflect the current world around us. Our leaders must realize that many Iowa classrooms are operating with outdated equipment, with history books that are over a decade old, technology that predates our students, and crowding with not a desk or square inch of space to spare.

We simply must fund our schools with adequate cost of living adjustments if we want to be competitive. Our hope today was that the Governor would not play politics and claim to support our schools with too little funding. Unfortunately, that is exactly what he has done.

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The ISEA is a professional organization made up of more than 34,000 educators who are dedicated to supporting and protecting a quality education for all Iowa students.