House Journal: Page 41: Tuesday, January 9, 1996

Just as we were ahead of the times in 1839, our investment in
the Iowa Communications Network vaults us ahead of other states
and countries in the education of our children.
In his new book, The Road Ahead, Bill Gates, the visionary
founder of Microsoft, discusses how important it is for us to
use technology and the information superhighway to advance
education. I'm sure even Bill Gates would be impressed if he
knew that his vision for the future is up and running in Iowa
today. Soon every school district will have access to two-way,
interactive classes provided by the Iowa Communications Network.
The ICN will make certain that distance or size does not
disadvantage any student, even in the smallest or most remote
school district of this state.
Look around you. Almost every work place - even this House - is
run by the computer. Yet too few of our students have access to
computer-aided instruction.
We need to change that. By the year 1999, every Iowa high school
student should have access to the information superhighway and
be taught by teachers who are trained to deliver the
technological know-how necessary to prepare them for the jobs of
the next millennium.
I am proposing we establish a four-year, $150 million School
Improvement and Technology Fund to provide our local schools
with the flexibility and resources they need to bring the
opportunities of the Information Age to every Iowa student.
Our schools must continue to be places where our children are
enabled to reach the limits of their talents; where they can
exceed their ambitions; and where they will be able to progress
beyond the dreams of their parents. This is the Iowa dream. We
all know there is more to improving Iowa's schools than
computers and technology alone. The teacher will always be
fundamental to our system of quality education. We must take
steps this year to redevelop the teaching profession so that
teachers are prepared to equip our children with the skills to
compete in the Twenty-first century.
Now, we must also strengthen our state's commitment to equitable
local school funding while we reduce reliance on property taxes.
That is why I am proposing that from now on all allowable growth
in school budgets be paid for by the state, and not the local
property taxpayer. This is an historic move that will greatly
strengthen all of our schools for the future.
Just two months after Iowa became a state, our first state
university was chartered. Iowa's state universities are among
the finest public universities in America, offering a quality,
affordable education, conducting trend-setting research, and
serving as a valuable tool for economic development. In
preparing for the future, we should make key strategic
investments in facilities so our Regents' institutions can grow
to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
I am recommending a three-year, $66 million program to fund
facilities for biological sciences, the performing arts,
engineering, and livestock research at our state universities.
Our independent colleges and universities attract students from
Iowa and all over the country - most of whom stay here to live
and work. To meet rising education costs, we should increase the
Iowa Tuition Grant, which helps keep some of our best and
brightest young people here in Iowa.
Our community colleges are our link to the workforce. The
training and education they provide to our workforce helps make
Iowa workers the most

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (76th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

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