Senate Journal: Page 32: Tuesday, January 9, 1996

         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 Iowas 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 21st century.

         Now, we must also strengthen our states 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. Iowas 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 productive in the land. These colleges will play a key role as we
    restructure our workforce development programs.

         We must stay on the course for economic development. Our continuous
    improvement strategy to attract good-paying jobs is working. Last year,
    we made progress by eliminating the property tax on machinery and
    equipment. We cannot afford to stop there. This session, we must reform
    our regulatory system to keep Iowa on a course for growth and
    opportunity for the next 150 years.

         We should also take new steps to improve our overall
    competitiveness, helping both families and small businesses grow.

Iowa General Assembly

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

© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? sjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

Last update: Fri Jan 12 20:45:07 CST 1996
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