Iowans for Tax Relief has created an online portal with information about every public school in Iowa.
It includes the graduation rate for each district, as well as things like ACT scores and budget data ,”to help parents, school board members, taxpayers and just everybody in Iowa learn a little bit more about what their school districts are doing and how students are doing,” said Sarah Curry, research director for the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation.
“…It’s really important to me personally because I’m a mom and I’ve got three kids here in Iowa that are attending public school. Just like any parent, I want what’s best for my kids and a quality education that sets them up for success.”
The website shows the percentage of third graders in each district who are reading at their grade level as well as enrollment trends.
“Parents should know their school board members and they should have open lines of communication and sometimes that intimidation factor is so high because they don’t know the information and they don’t know what questions to ask,” Curry said, “and we’re here to bridge that gap and help parents get the information and feel empowered to talk to their school board members, ultimately, for our children so that way they can do better.”
The website shows property tax levy rates for each school district, but is also includes the Iowans for Tax Relief opinion on whether it’s “reasonable.” Iowans for Tax Relief is lobbying legislators to cut property taxes.