House Journal: Page 56: Tuesday, January 14, 1997

 million commitment to school improvement and technology. 
Several years ago, we had the foresight to envision what the
Information Age could do for education, so we created the Iowa
Communications Network.
With all that we have done, some may think we've done it all. 
In today's rapidly changing world, I, for one, am not satisfied.
 Iowa must never stop improving education.
Our challenge is to design schools that will keep Iowa at the
forefront of educational excellence for the 21st century.  We
need to benchmark how our schools measure up to the highest
levels of academic achievement in the world.  To accomplish
that, I will appoint a Commission on Educational Excellence for
the 21st Century.  This bipartisan group of citizens will assist
us in developing a vision for strengthening Iowa's leadership in
education.
From the very beginning, Iowa's enlightened leaders had a vision
to lead America in literacy by giving every Iowan access to
quality education.  They also recognized the importance of local
control and parental involvement.  Building on that tradition, I
am directing the Department of Education to undertake the Iowa
Community High Schools program to encourage innovation and
creativity and to expand community involvement in efforts to
improve local schools.
Our schools are strong because of the outstanding people who
have chosen to make educating our children their life's pursuit.
 A decade ago, we began our efforts to increase teachers'
salaries in order to attract the best and brightest.  In 1997,
we should increase the minimum starting salaries for Iowa
teachers by 10 percent.
Along with our quality public schools, our state is blessed with
outstanding nonpublic schools.  Thousands of Iowa parents make a
financial sacrifice to send their children to the school of
their choice.  This year, I am recommending we double the
tuition tax credit to make nonpublic schools a more affordable
option for Iowa families.
Iowa has three world-renowned state universities and 15
outstanding area community colleges.  The budget I am presenting
includes $5 million a year for technology investments at our
Regents institutions and community colleges.  I am also
recommending an 8 percent increase in the Iowa Tuition Grant for
needy Iowa students attending our premier independent colleges
and universities.  We should also fund the National Guard
Tuition Assistance Program to put higher education within reach
of more Iowans and to help in recruitment for our outstanding
Iowa National Guard.
Iowa is a leader in distance learning.  No state in America has
the resource that we have with the Iowa Communications Network. 
We are adding well over a hundred classrooms each year and every
school district will be connected by 1999.  Advanced
mathematics, the latest scientific research, foreign languages,
and a seemingly endless flow of information will be available to
Iowa students in every school district.
Distance education must now be extended to all Iowa citizens. 
For our workers and professionals to be competitive in the
ever-changing world economy, we must make all of the
opportunities of our state's higher education institutions
available to all of our people, no matter where they live.
The ACCESS Education Through Distance Learning initiative will
help us chart a course for broadening the horizons of all
Iowans.  Our independent colleges and universities, state
universities, and community colleges all have an important role
to play.

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 1)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

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