The Iowa House is debating legislation today that lays out the state’s education budget for next year. Republicans who control the debate agenda in the House do not intend to provide the extra money Governor Tom Vilsack seeks for teacher pay hikes and expansion of preschool programs.
Vilsack says the action in the House is not the last word on teacher pay and pre-K spending increases.”I’m positive there’ll be continued negotiations because we won’t have an education budget with it,” Vilsack says.
The governor says legislators have spent too much time and passion dealing with the TouchPlay issue, and now it’s time for lawmakers to refocus. “People get caught up in the gaming disputes and discussions and they lose focus on what’s really important,” Vilsack says. He says raising teacher pay and spending more state taxdollars on preschool will have a “long-lasting and positive” impact on Iowa.