Opponents say proposed amendments will hurt education in Iowa

Opponents of two amendments to Iowa’s constitution say passage of theproposals will land Iowa’s education system in the same category as Arkansasand Mississippi. Those two states, along with 11 others, haveconstitutional limits on state government taxing and spending. Brad Hudsona spokesman for a group called “Neighbors Against Higher Property Taxes”says if Iowa performs like the other states it would have to cut the moneyit spends on education. Hudson says Iowa spends over six-thousand dollarsper pupil while the other states spend about 600 dollars less.Supporters of the constitutional spending and taxing limits point to otherfigures and contend education spending in Iowa will be unaffected, andperhaps protected by the amendments. The special referendum on the constitutional amendments is scheduled fornext Tuesday, June 29th.