Barb Kalbach.

Iowans love our public schools!

I was happy to serve on my local school board for 12 years, both my daughters work in public education and my five grandkids go to public schools. They are essential institutions in our communities, especially in rural areas. And, they’re accountable to the general public – unlike private schools.

Here in Iowa, we’re witnessing a serious attack on public education. Governor Kim Reynolds and her statehouse allies rammed through their private school voucher scheme in 2023, and now they want to expand it. The cost is estimated to increase by more than 50% over last year, totaling more than $200 million of our public tax dollars during the 2024/2025 school year. Their goal is to defund, dismantle and privatize our public schools.

Reynolds has also launched attacks on special education services, which are coordinated and delivered by Area Education Agencies. AEAs were established by the legislature 50 years ago to help school districts share resources and provide support for teachers and school staff so our children can thrive.

AEAs have been particularly beneficial in rural Iowa, where small districts with fewer resources find it harder to pay for all the things AEAs provide. Earlier this year, Reynolds and her cronies passed a law that defunds, down-sizes and begins privatizing our AEAs. In conversations I’ve had with educators from surrounding states that don’t have them, I can’t help but think our AEAs are a blessing we didn’t know we had. And Reynolds is trying to screw it up.

But everyday Iowans are fighting back. That’s why protecting, defending and strengthening public education will be a featured topic at Iowa CCI Action’s summer meeting in Ankeny on Saturday, August 10. The theme of our event is “People Power is How We Win,” and it’ll include speakers, discussions and workshops to help people – who want to fight for public education – get more involved. You can learn about it at www.cciaction.org/events.

I’m very excited about our keynote speaker, Dr. James E. Ford. He’s an award-winning educator and nationally recognized leader in the fight for a public education system that’s honest, accurate and fully funded, and that prepares students of all backgrounds, races and identities for their future.

Ford will talk about public education as a fundamental pillar of American society and explain why public schools are so essential for living in a just, multiracial democracy, and what we can – and should – be doing to advance them. As you might imagine, Dr. Ford is an outspoken critic of private school vouchers.

He will share stories from North Carolina, where he helped grassroots groups organize the “Public School Strong” campaign. In their first year alone, they organized residents in 61 counties to show up at school board meetings to express their support for public education, in addition to helping pro-public school candidates run for school boards and get elected.

Following our Aug 10 summer meeting, Iowa CCI members will be laser-focused on organizing our own “Public School Strong” campaign in communities across the state. We’ll be doing everything we can to engage thousands of everyday Iowans to show support for public education and push back against attacks on our schools, because we know People Power is How We Win!

Barb Kalbach lives in Adair County, Iowa. She is a 4th-generation family farmer, a registered nurse, and board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Barb can be reached at barbnealkalbach@gmail.com.