Dear Honorable Governor Terry Branstad and Honorable Members of the Iowa Legislature;
As members of either the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation or the Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation, and in some cases both, we feel it is incumbent upon us to speak up about the current debate regarding education funding.
The Task Force was established to fully explore options for teacher leadership systems and to provide recommendation to policy makers on the topic. The Commission was established by the General Assembly to play a key role in implementing the statewide Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) System. School districts that pursue state funding for a local TLC system submit plans which we evaluate and make recommendations for approval to the Iowa Department of Education.
We have always believed that the $50 million allocation to Teacher Leadership for a phase in period of three years beginning in 2014 is an additional resource and must not come at the expense of Supplemental State Aid (SSA). The Teacher Leadership funding is allocated only to schools that have been approved in the application process for very specific uses as delineated in statute. This should not detract from the resources provided to schools to meet the basic services to our students. This basic funding for our public schools is every bit as critical to our goal of world-class education as any funds allocated to targeted purposes, such as TLC.
While we appreciate the state’s commitment in resources, time and purpose to the Teacher Leadership program in our schools, it is becoming clear that the additional funds meant to go to this program are now being counted in a grand total for basic school services, implying a greater level of support for basic funding than actually exists. This clearly violates the intent and purpose of the Teacher Leadership program and it misleads the public about the amount of money actually being proposed for basic support for Iowa’s schools.
The Task Force and Commission members would like to be clear about the intent and purpose of the Teacher Leadership and Compensation money. We have continuously advocated that this should be additional money and should not come at the expense of a well-rounded quality instruction for students that include class size reduction, curricular updates, and other basic services.
We are charged with being stewards of this ground-breaking legislation modeled after some of the highest-performing education systems in the world. We would be remiss in our responsibilities if we did not call upon you to provide full support for basic funding through Supplemental State Aid.
