Two Creston middle school students are in trouble for allegedly making threats.Creston police say the two girls were Stung by criticism from democrats and the state teachers’ union, Republican legislators like House Speaker Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs are firing back. Siegrist says democrats haven’t “found an issue that the haven’t felt compelled to whine about all year.” He says this is another to add to their list.Senate Democrat Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says the teacher pay bill a House panel will consider next week includes a “secret plan to dumb down standards” as it lets people who don’t have a teaching degree teach if they take a 12-week course. Gronstal says letting “12-week-wonders” be classroom leaders flies in the face of the goal of improving teachers as a means to raising student achievement.Senate President Mary Kramer, a republican from West Des Moines, chided Gronstal. She says it’s important to keep the rhetoric down, so they can get something down.Earlier this week, the president of the Iowa State Education Association said legislators have so far failed to come up with a plan that will attract new teachers to the profession and adequately reward good, veteran teachers. Siegrist, who is a former teacher, is hot. He says he is extremely disappointed in the ISEA. He says their “bombastic rhetoric” is poisoning the minds of many people.Siegrist told reporters yesterday that democrats, including the democrat Governor, have been and will be involved in writing the final draft of the plan.
