Coffee with Friends and Iowa Legislators

This morning I had the pleasure of meeting with several of Shenandoah's community leaders at a legislative coffee held downtown. I sincerely appreciate Senator Costello and Representative Dolecheck joining us this morning to spend time talking about the work they are doing on behalf of Southwest Iowa and openly answering questions from the audience. It is always interesting to attend these coffees because you hear different voices from the community advocating for want is important from their perspective. It is good to consider their thinking and recognize that there are many needs represented in the room.

Extending Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) is a considerable concern for me; I have written about this before in a blog I wrote this summer about legislative priorities.  I appreciate there is momentum to see that SAVE is extended until 2051. If this HSB 18 passes and also passes the Senate, it will help schools across Iowa continue to ensure facilities are cared for and well maintained.  SAVE generates approximately $980,000 in revenue for Shenandoah CSD.  These funds are foundational for the district. The funds are used to pay the debt on the existing elementary and middle school building, take care of more substantial infrastructure needs related to facilities and technology, replace equipment, and will be necessary to support the repairs that are planned for the high school.  These are critical funds for Iowa schools as they are used to ensure that facilities are cared for and well maintained.

I appreciate Senator Costello and Representative Dolecheck's support of the SAVE extension.  I do have some concerns about some of the additional language in the bill that I was able to ask about today.  There are some new restrictions related to athletic facilities, school safety and career academies that are important and likely right to consider.  I question the need for them in this particular bill. I would advocate that SAVE needs to be extended on its good general merit and school safety and career academies should be separate legislation.  I do believe extending SAVE to 2051 is the right decision with or without the additional language in the bill.

There were other topics discussed this morning including local option sales tax on internet sales, the impact of finding workers when there are low unemployment rates, the support for home rule for Iowa schools, concerns expressed about sustaining rural hospitals and a few others.  These were good discussions for our community to have with our area legislators. I am looking forward to meeting again next month.