Governor vows to fight to keep money for teacher raises

Governor Tom Vilsack vows to reject Republican legislators’ plan to scale back their 40-million dollar teacher pay initiative. Republicans say with falling state tax revenues, they can’t afford to follow through on their promise to spend 40-million dollars to raise teacher pay. Vilsack says Republicans legislator’s made a promise to Iowa’s children. He says he’s drawing a line in the sand on this one. Vilsack says legislators haven’t accomplished much in the three months they’ve been meeting in Des Moines.The president of the state’s largest teacher’s union is “disappointed” Republican legislators are backing away from their 40-million dollar promise. Iowa State Education Association President Jolene Franken, says the move is “very, very disheartening.” Franken says 40-million was a “meager” attempt to raise teacher pay in Iowa, and the current pay scale for teacher’s won’t attract enough new teachers to the profession, or keep experienced teachers from leaving. Legislators have coupled the pay increase with a dramatic shift in the way teachers are paid, linking bonuses to performance. Key lawmakers are considering having just a few Iowa schools implement the higher and different pay method, which would be cheaper and might work some bugs out of the new system. Franken and hundreds of Iowa schoolteachers were in Ames yesterday for the Iowa State Education Association’s annual delegate assembly.