March 18, 2024

Letter to the Editor

A Vote for DeVos is a Vote Against Iowa Schools

Betsy DeVos is a billionaire by birth and marriage; she never went to a public school, nor have her children. She has tirelessly lobbied against public education and advocated for a voucher system. We cannot risk our children’s education and future on a privatized educational system. Any privatized system’s primary goal is profit, not the wellbeing of the children, or the education of society.

Under her direction, our poorest schools would receive even fewer funds and our most at-risk children would suffer even more. Charter schools have not been the panacea they were proclaimed to be. According to the Washington Post, only one in six of Pennsylvania’s charter schools achieve a “high-performing” rating based on test scores. That is unacceptable. The charter schools industry is full of fraud and corruption, taking tax dollars to enrich their administrators, pay their teachers poorly, and leave society with the proverbial “bill.”

Privatization of our educational system is not the answer. The countries with the best education in the world have strong public education systems and highly paid teachers. We need to follow their proven track record.

Finally, Iowa has fantastic public schools, with the most fair funding system in the country, guaranteeing that ALL Iowa children have a 1st class education. Iowa is leader in public education.