May 23, 2012

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Controversy over gay student’s award continues at Clinton Catholic school

May 8, 2012 By

Thousands of signatures are being gathered to support a gay student at Clinton’s Prince Of Peace School over the presentation of a scholarship he won. Keaton Fuller won a $40,000 scholarship to the University of Iowa from the Eychaner Foundation.

The Matthew Shepard Scholarship honors students for their efforts working for the acceptance of the LGBT community and raising awareness and understanding. It is named for another teen who was beaten because of his sexual orientation and later died.

When Keaton applied for the scholarship, a teacher at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Clinton, Iowa signed a form acknowledging that a representative from Eychaner Foundation would be presenting the award to Keaton if he won.

 But now that Keaton has been selected, the Diocese of Davenport says no. It won’t allow the foundation to present the award to Keaton at graduation. Instead, a member of the school staff will present the award.

The diocese explained the decision in a statement by Bishop Martin Amos. “We cannot allow any one or any organization which promotes a position that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church to present at a diocesan institution.”

The Prince of Peace student, in an open letter to students, staff and parents said the whole ordeal has been incredibly hurtful, and he feels invalidated. He hopes the support can change the decision. An on-line petition at change.org has gained over 3,500 signatures since being started Monday and there is also a Facebook page started in support of Fuller with over 1,200 supporters by this morning.

By Dave Vickers, KROS, Clinton

Filed Under: Education, News, Religion

“Tweaks” likely, but final state budget plan coming together

May 7, 2012 By

The Iowa legislature is back in the state capitol after a couple of weeks of inactivity — and several key decisions on the state budget are in the works.

Senator Bob Dvorsky, a Democrat from Coralville who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee, describes the activity as “feverish.”

“It’s great,” Dvorsky told reporters late this morning. “The momentum’s moving forward.”

According to Dvorsky, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on spending levels in seven of the nine bills that outline the extent of state spending for the next budgeting year that begins July 1st.

A high-profile dispute over state support of the public universities has been resolved. Legislators agree to forward $23 million more dollars to the schools. Republicans initially sought to cut state support by $21 million.

There’s still no decision about an abortion policy statement that’s attached to a bill outlining spending for the Departments of Public Health and Human Services.

“There’s still some tweaks,” Dvorsky said. “I’m sure there’ll be some bumps before we get out of here.”

Dvorsky suggested the legislature could wrap up the 2012 session this week. Policy disputes over property taxes and education reform are not resolved yet, however, and it’s unclear if legislators will hammer out last-minute agreements on those issues or simply do nothing and walk away.

Filed Under: Education, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Governor optimistic on property tax reform, less so on education reform prospects

May 5, 2012 By

Republican Governor Terry Branstad is expressing optimism about prospects for an agreement on property tax reform, but the governor admits lawmakers may not be able to pass an education reform plan this year.

Late this week Democrats and Republicans in the legislature unveiled the “framework” for a deal that primarily would cut commercial property taxes, but would also address a few other tax issues. For the past two years Branstad has made commercial property tax reduction his highest priority.

“This thing has been around for 30 years and it’s time that we get something accomplished and a permanent property tax reduction for commercial/industrial, but also protecting other classes of property,” Branstad says. “I think we have a framework agreed upon and just as some of the details may yet have to be worked out, just as it has been on the budget, but I feel confident it can get done and will be done and this session should not get done without it being completed.”

The governor also held an “education summit” last summer and unveiled a series of education reforms last fall. Branstad blames Senate Democrats for standing in the way of “bold” reform.

“Whether we’re going to be able to get something meaningful agreed upon this session or not, I don’t know,” Branstad says. “But I’m committed to this for the long term and if we don’t get it done this year, we’ll be back working for it next year.”

Branstad had already pegged next year as the time for tackling teacher pay issues, which are not addressed in any plan legislators crafted this year.

“My focus and my committment to education reform and to improving student achievement will continue to be very strong,” Branstad says. “And we’re going to work very hard for this because I think it’s one of the most important things we can do for our kids and for them being prepared for the jobs of the future.”

All legislators balked at Branstad’s idea of requiring college students maintain a 3.0 grade average if they’re getting a teaching degree. House Republicans voted this year to end the practice of “last hired, first fired” when it comes to teachers, arguing the worst teachers — regardless of tenure — should be at the top of any layoff list. Senate Democrats rejected that idea.

Filed Under: Education, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

PIRG makes another call to stop student loan interest rate hike

May 3, 2012 By

A watchdog group released new figures today it says show how damaging it will be to Iowa college students — and to the economy — if Congress fails to take action on student loan interest rates. Sonia Ashe, spokeswoman for Iowa Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), says the interest rate on federal student loans is scheduled to double on July first, jumping from 3.4% to 6.8%.

“Here in Iowa, 72% of graduates are carrying student loan debt with an average of $29,598 per borrower, which is above the national average at this point,” Ashe says. It’s estimated 255,000 students enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities would be required to pay about one-thousand dollars more per year of school, if the interest rates bounce in July.

Combined, that means Iowa students would owe an additional $255-million under the increase. Laurie Wolf, a financial aid officer at Des Moines Area Community College, says more than 700 students graduated from “D-MAC” on Wednesday, including a 33-year-old woman in the dental assistance program.

“It took her six years to get through the program because she’s raising five children,” Wolf says. “She took out student loans in order to help pay for her education, her books, her transportation to clinicals, and to help support the child care that she needed to take care of her five children while she was in school.”

Wolf says that woman will face serious financial hardship if the interest rate on her loans doubles. Des Moines native Jessie Tobin is a student at the University of Iowa, majoring in international relations and politics.

Tobin says the looming interest rate hike is making her reconsider continuing her higher education in grad school after she finishes her undergrad studies next year. “As students, what we really need is for our leaders to step in and realize that this isn’t a right or a left matter and it’s not something to worry about just with the upcoming elections,” Tobin says.

“It’s a real problem affecting 7-million-plus students and their prospects of obtaining a college degree and a more prosperous future.” Student loan debt exceeds one-trillion dollars and has surpassed total credit card debt for the first time. Legislation that would kill the interest rate hike was rolled out last week by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin.

The legislation is called the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012. A vote in the Senate may come as soon as Tuesday.

Filed Under: Education, News Tagged With: , , ,

Dubuque school board selects acting superintendent

May 3, 2012 By

The Dubuque School Board has selected the district’s current director of human resources to serve as acting superintendent. Stan Rheingans’appointment comes after superintendent Larie Godinez told the board she will be taking an extended leave of absence.

On Monday, the board voted to begin the process of firing Godinez. The board cited a “lack of confidence by staff and failure to lead” as the reasons for considering her termination. Rheingans says it’s his priority to make sure students and teachers finish out the school year on a positive note despite what’s going on at the administrative level.

“This isn’t a celebration in a sense,” Rheingans said. “Nobody wanted the scenario to roll out the way that it did, but we all need to maintain as much equilibrium as we can to keep our schools filtered from the distraction.”

Rheingans has several years of teaching experience as well as five years as a principal in Wilton, Iowa. He’s certified to be a superintendent and has been the Human Resources Director for the Dubuque Schools since 2004.

Godinez has until Saturday to ask the board for a hearing about her future employment.

By Katie Wiedemann, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Education, News

Medal of Honor recipient Sal Guinta returns home to present scholarship

May 2, 2012 By

Medal of Honor recipient Sal Guinta (file photo)

A decorated war hero returned to his hometown high school in eastern Iowa Tuesday night to award a student with a special scholarship.

 Hiawatha native and Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta graduated from Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School in 2003.

“There are quite a few authority figures who are still floating around the building who were authority figures for me too, so I minding my p’s and q’s,” Giunta joked. In 2010, President Obama presented Giunta with the nation’s highest military decoration.

Giunta was the first living American to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. Hundreds of parents, students and veterans cheered as Giunta presented Kennedy senior Abi Gray with the inaugural $1,000 Sal Giunta Scholarship.

While the scholarship bears his name, Giunta said it will also honor the memories of two of his friends and comrades killed in Afghanistan, Sergeant Josh Brennan and Specialist Hugo Mendoza. Every year, a Kennedy senior with plans for military, public or community service will win the scholarship, awarded through the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation.

“It will give an opportunity, give a chance, give a helping hand to someone who not only wants it, but will use it and not just take a free ride, but use it to fling themselves into bigger and better things…is a great thing,” Giunta said. That’s exactly what Abi Gray plans to do.

“I just really want to make a difference in as many people’s lives as possible,” Gray said. “I really hope I can make that happen.” Abi Gray has an internship this summer at Rockwell Collins. She’s been accepted to Iowa State and plans to go into aerial engineering. Giunta, who now lives in Colorado, asked Gray to keep in touch with him about her plans for the future.

By Jillian Petrus, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Education, Military, News

West Des Moines school doubles down for world record

May 2, 2012 By

 

A school in central Iowa has set a Guinness World Records title for having the most twins. There are 16 sets of twins attending Valley Southwoods Freshman High School in West Des Moines. Elaine Watkins-Miller is a spokesperson for the West Des Moines School District.

She points out that Valley Southwoods houses just one class of students, ninth graders, and has an enrollment of 711 students this year. The school received official notification Tuesday from Guinness Worlds Records that Valley Southwoods now has the title for “Most Twins in the Same Academic Year at One School.”

 

Watkins-Miller says the oddity wasn’t something administrators immediately recognized. “I mean, certainly, our administrators noticed there were a fair number of twins coming through the door at the beginning of the school year, but they were focused on getting the school year going and classes in session,” Watkins-Miller said.

 

“One of the parents said, ‘that’s sort of an unusual number and let’s look into that.’ The administrators did…and sure enough, it was a record breaking number.” The 16 sets of twins at Valley Southwoods tops the old record of 13 at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, Connecticut in 2009-10.

 

Five of the 16 sets of twins at Valley Southwoods are identical twins, while 11 are fraternal twins.

 

Filed Under: Education, News
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