AEA proposal still in question among Iowa legislature

With the AEA proposal still a continuing topic, Sen. Tom Shipley and Rep. Devon Wood, Iowa legislators who represent portions of Union County, came to Creston for their monthly legislative coffee meeting and discussed what has changed since the last time they visited.

Iowa AEAs (area education agencies) provide education services to school districts. In particular, their services towards children and teenagers with special needs help them meet their education requirements.

Gov. Kim Reynolds had proposed a bill in February for AEA reform which the Iowa Legislative mostly dismissed. The Iowa House worked to redraft the bill alongside discussions with superintendents, school boards and AEA administrators. “We talked to as many school folks as we could to get a variety of information and feedback that they would like to see and need to see at the forefront of the conversation,” Wood said.

Shipley agrees something has to be done with AEAs, but disagreed with the initial proposal and how to go about it. His concerns are based around the administration of these AEAs. “There’s a lot of top-end AEA employees that make an awful lot of money, and they never see a kid,” he said. “That’s problematic.”

Shipley also assured the proposal was not an attempt to dismantle AEAs. “That’s absolutely not true,” said Shipley. “Who are the people who are going to lose their job? Not the ones that deal with kids.”

The bill for the Senate has already been introduced. Shipley is confident the bill won’t hurt rural school districts, citing a colleague who was a former superintendent for rural schools. “We’re not going to do anything if it’s going to hurt rural schools,” said Shipley. “That’s where I’ve been from the start. I will not support it if it had anything to do with suspicions or problems with rural schools.”

The AEA proposal is also causing problems with other Iowa legislation. “It’s like a sock to the drain, seems like it plugs up everything,” said Shipley.

The priorities is still on getting services to kids, according to Shipley. “How we get there is still the problem,” he said.

The Iowa House approved their redrafted proposal February 29; the Senate has introduced their bill and is still waiting for decision.

Summit Pipline

The Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline is still a major issue for Iowa regulators, especially the process of whether or not to grant the company eminent domain powers. The House had allowed pipeline companies to use eminent domain as soon as they obtained voluntary easements for 90% of the pipeline.

Cain Goodenberger, a local farmer in Creston who attended the meeting, took issue with how the company could use eminent domain. “I hate the thought of having to deal with a company that’s privately-owned telling me that they’re going to use eminent domain,” said Goodenberger. “It’s a for-profit company, not a government entity, not for the betterment of the community.”

The concern with how the pipeline will affect crop yields was cited as a fundamental issue with giving up land for the pipeline. Rusty Zimmerman, the new Creston Parks and Recreation Director, brought up the issue. “That soil’s never going to be the same,” said Zimmerman. “You dig something 12-foot deep, flipping the clay aside, how will we know it will go back the same way? It never will.”

Other Legislation

Wood shared a drafted bill that would allow for veterinarians to use innovation funds to upgrade their facilities. Dairy programs and butcheries had a similar versions of this concept. The plan would be able to entice new veterinarian graduates to stay in the state of Iowa as well as keep potential retiring veterinarians.

Shipley also talked about a proposed bill that discussed the criminal charges around distributing fentanyl. “If you give somebody a pill that results in their death, and that stuff had fentanyl, that’s a class A felony,” he said. Wood shared that the House also recently passed a similar bill.

Discussions around declining deer population has also taken up Iowa legislative according to Shipley. “We’re not talking down 5-10%, we’re talking 25-30% year-over-year,” he said. Solutions to solve the problem are still being discussed.

The quality of organic food was brought to attention. Shipley has taken issue with how these products are being marketed, citing incorrect packaging details. He’s also critical of the price of these organic products. “We talked about how these things are really going to help low-income people with healthier diet choices,” said Shipley. “All that stuff is priced to the point where they can’t afford it.”

Wood also revealed continued discussions with community colleges such as SWCC to integrate community college courses into local high school programs. The hope is this will encourage students to seek out higher education. “If you got a kid that’s looking at one path or another, and maybe there’s no rep from that trade program that’s come to visit, where are they going to find that information and how can we help them get it?” Wood said.

Issues regarding allowing teachers to undergo weapons training has also been discussed. Shipley mentioned how finding a consensus among teachers has been a struggle, citing the emails he received from teachers regarding the topic.

Discussions with railroad companies and bringing them community issues relating to safety and infrastructure have been successful, according to Shipley. An annual meeting occurred last Thursday between legislators and railroad companies, the second since its introduction last year, and responses have been positive. “Part of this year was figuring out if it made a difference,” said Shipley. “It did. The railroads did listen to the people.”

Saturday’s meeting was the last legislative coffee for this year’s session.