Legislation for Senate File 29, which involves the establishment of an educational savings account (ESA) program, is currently in the subcommittee phase at the Iowa Legislature, but superintendents in the area have it on their mind. Public schools receive approximately $8,000 per student every year. The ESA program would give that $8,000 directly to the parents to spend on education as they see fit. This differs from prior legislation commonly referred to as the voucher program in that the previous legislation only allowed the money to be spent at established schools, while the ESA expands to homeschooling.

Keota Superintendent Dennis Phelps believes the effect on area schools would ultimately depend on the confidence parents have in the school, “If people think your school is doing well, you shouldn’t worry about it. If people don’t think your school’s doing well, and they have the opportunity to go anywhere and have it paid for any time, that would be an issue.”

Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider says if the legislature decides to move forward with the ESA bill, it’s something that needs to be handled delicately, “I think if they move forward on that idea, it’s something that needs to be done very, very, very carefully. I have a feeling that if it’s rushed into without a lot of input from a variety of sources, it could be the kind of thing that hurts small school districts in the State of Iowa.” At the recent legislative briefing in Washington, State Representative Dave Heaton (R), State Senator Rich Taylor (D), and State Senator Kevin Kinney (D) said they would not support ESA legislation, while State Representative Jarad Klein (R) said he would.