State bills may affect education

On Friday, March 11, the Wright County Farm Bureau sponsored town hall meetings in Clarion, Belmond, and Eagle Grove, where Representative Terry Baxter and Senator Dennis Guth talked with citizens about legislation currently under discussion at the Capitol. About 20 people attended the meeting at the Clarion Depot, where many spoke about issues tied to education.

In January, Governor Branstad announced a plan to divert some of the funds generated from the 1 cent sales tax for education to address water quality issues. Dr. Robert Olson, superintendent of the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows school districts, spoke against the proposal. “It’s a slippery slope, and it’s already happened,” Olson said. “People are already looking at that fund and getting their fingers into it.”

Stu Swanson, a local farmer, thought that the governor was simply trying to do more with what money is available. “My fear is, there’s probably not a good opportunity to pass a new tax of any kind,” he said. “It may be an easier option looking forward.”

Senator Guth said that the changes in the use of the tax money should be up to the people, not the governor. “It needs to come before the people of Iowa in some way,” Guth said. “It’s important to me that the citizens remain engaged.”

 

For more topics addressed at the meeting, see the March 17 edition of the Monitor.

Wright County Monitor

P.O. Box 153
Clarion, IA 50525
Phone: 515-532-2871
Email: news@wrightcountymonitor.com

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