Senate and House candidates in Jasper County talk education, workforce, etc.

Editor’s note: The following is part two of a two-part series covering the forum organized by both major parties on Oct. 15. Candidate questions were submitted by visitors and read aloud by moderator Andrew Green, a professor at Central College in Pella. Democratic candidate Mike Overman was not present.

Although the candidates running for Jasper County’s House and Senate seats in the Iowa Legislature were not able to answer as many questions as the people campaigning for the two open spots on the board of supervisors, they were able to touch on some of the most talked about topics at a recent forum.

Participating in the Oct. 18 forum — organized by the chairpersons of both major parties — were House District 38 candidates Jon Dunwell, Michael Wood and Erick Zehr; House District 37 candidate Barb Kniff McCulla; and Senate District 19 candidates Ken Rozenboom and Tyler Stewart.

Education was the first topic of discussion, specifically Iowa’s public education system. Zehr said public schools have been consistently underfunded for years, which “undermines everything that our public education system’s trying to do.” Public education is foundational to the United States of America.

“When I look around and I see our public schools are failing when we were No. 1 in the entire country when it came to public education,” Zehr said. “Everybody used to do the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. People modeled their education systems after us. I think it is a direct result of the fact that we continue to underfund it.”

To put it plainly, Zehr said to let teachers teach. Wood said parents should have a choice in their children’s education, whether the route is homeschool, private school or public schools. He also advocated for schools to offer more life skills to help children be better prepared for adulthood.

“I’d like to see less standardized testing at earlier ages of schooling,” Wood said. “Let them focus more on learning and less on memorizing for testing.”

McCulla thinks it is parents’ choice to pursue public education or not. The parents are the ones raising the children and should be the ones controlling and allowing their kids to move from school to school, she said. It is not an institution, she added, and she would like to see education continue to grow under Reynolds.

“The governor has put together some of these programs where we are raising up the workforce by having high schoolers already have the opportunity to take college courses in the high school — trades and so forth,” McCulla said. “I truly believe in that. I think that’s a great thing.”

Teachers need to be empowered and respected as professionals, Dunwell said, but there is nothing the Iowa Legislature emphasizes more than education, saying 54 percent of every dollar spent goes to education for the state budget. Property taxes and the penny sales tax also go toward school funding.

Declining enrollment is an issue among many school districts. Dunwell said lawmakers cannot be throwing more dollars to cover less students.

“We gotta find some unique ways and some strategies and systems by which we can help those schools, particularly in our rural communities as they continue to adjust,” Dunwell said. “I also believe we need to continue to give parents a voice and a place in providing the best opportunity for their child’s education.”

Rozenboom disagreed with Zehr’s previous comments that the legislature does not fully fund education. He presented a document of long-term trends. In 1993, he said Iowa schools spent about $5,500 per student. By 2018, Rozenboom said the total expenditures per student was more than $13,500.

“If we factored in the consumer price index to that 1993 number it would come at about $9,500. But we’re at $13,500. It’s more since then, but remember this was 2018 data,” Rozenboom said. “So we have met the consumer price index increase, inflation increase, in funding our public schools in Iowa.”

Like his other Republican candidates, he is a proponent of school choice and says he always has been. Stewart said he is a public school success story. Those teachers are who he looked up to and made him fall in love with school, he said. As a teacher himself, he tries to replicate their work.

“But let’s be honest and let’s be realistic — teachers, our public schools have not been funded fully. We have not reached 4 percent. That’s just to keep up with inflation. We can throw out fancy numbers all we want but that’s just the reality,” Stewart said, referencing his opponent’s previous answer.

If public schools’ needs are being met, Stewart added, then teachers would not be leaving at an alarming rate.

“Why are we trying to dictate which books they can read in the classroom? Why are we suggesting we put cameras in the classroom? They need help. We don’t need more hate,” he said. “We have to stop singling out marginalized communities … We’re using kids as political pawns.”

Stewart criticized the spread of the litter box hoaxes — which many have perceived as an attack against the LGBTQ+ community — saying it is just being used to bolster the idea of school choice. Public schools need to be cared for and maintained in a way that meets the needs of students.

“I am on the ground floor every day of a public school, and I can tell you we are tired,” Stewart said. “We don’t want more. We want enough.”

THE WORKER SHORTAGE IN IOWA

Candidates were asked how to address Iowa’s worker shortage, an issue affecting other states across the country. Stewart said the legislature needs to lure more professionals back to the state and become more accepting. He claimed young people are leaving the state because of negative rhetoric.

“That’s the common theme of my campaign: We’re going to push back on all this negative rhetoric because people want to live in a place where everybody’s accepted. Everybody,” Stewart said. “I think that’s kind of first and foremost we need to have a more accepting society in Iowa. Accepting of all lifestyles.”

Including liberals and conservatives. Rozenboom said Iowa works on addressing workforce every year, and it will continue to do so. Last year the legislature tried to remove the financial regulatory barriers to get people back to work and adjusted the unemployment laws. Schools and students also play a role.

“Whether it’s public school or private school or home school, they are our future,” Rozenboom said. “This is beyond our ability to fix. But Washington has to fix the immigration problem. Yesterday Barb and I met with several business leaders and we talked about this at length. We can’t fix that.”

But what lawmakers can do is encourage federal legislators to fix the problem, he added. Rozenboom then referenced a story about the reported 7 million workers that disappeared in the United States after the pandemic, but he did not offer any explanation or context. Wood said more workers need to be recruited in Iowa.

Immigration could help the labor shortage, he added. McCulla said this question is right in her wheelhouse. As a small business owner trying to grow her business, she said she can’t because there are not enough workers around. She, too, saw legal immigration as a way to fill the labor shortages.

“I’m a seasonal company so having them come in from April through the end of November and then they go back to their respective country,” she said. “So I hope to work more with that … Yesterday when we spoke with these business owners, (they) were all saying the same thing: We need workers.”

To attract workers to the state, Dunwell said Iowa has to be competitive with its tax rates. The state used to have a high income tax rate and has a high corporate tax rate. Lowering those tax rates makes Iowa one of the more attractive places for someone to move, raise a family and work, he said.

“Combined with that, we have to recognize we’ve done a lot incentivizing of companies to look at different ways which they can provide child care,” Dunwell said, later noting there is demographic shortage of workers. “…It’s going to be about bringing people who are not in the workplace back in the workplace.”

But it will take time, he noted. Zehr said a balanced solution is needed so that the employees and employer can thrive. Minimum wage doesn’t go as far as it used to, he added, so their time is not as valuable as it used to be. Iowa needs big solutions, but if it is not offering the right things for people they’ll look elsewhere.

Lack of collective bargaining rights and a possible ban on abortion, for example, will turn people away, Zehr claimed.

REPHRASED QUESTION ON CHILD CARE

Due to many candidates being unfamiliar with the proposed bill mentioned in a question about child care worker wages, the moderator rephrased the question to: How do you view the issue of child care worker shortages and what can state government do to help provide more adequate child care to workers in Iowa?

Small businesses are contemplating with the idea of adding child care facilities for workers, McCulla said. Vermeer and other businesses across the United States have offered this “perk” to employees. It does not necessarily pay the bills, she said, but it’s another perk, similar to a 401k or health insurance.

“It’s another avenue (for) that employer to draw some individuals to work for them,” she said. “It seems to be working in some places. In larger companies it works a little better than a smaller, ma-and-pa operation. But it’s an opportunity to give back to the employers and youngsters.”

Dunwell is concerned the state is going to pay for everything from birth through college. At some point writing a check may not be the answer, he said. To address the issue, he said the legislature last session increased the size of child care to match the surrounding states.

“I also love some of the governor’s initiatives and things we’ve supported in the House and the Senate, and that is really incentivizing — as Barb was talking about — companies to think about how they can help make this possible for their workers,” Dunwell said. “I saw this work wonderfully when I was in Orlando, Fla.”

Zehr said, “To say that paying handouts and tax credits isn’t part of the answering, with all due respect it’s spoken like somebody who hasn’t sent kids to daycare in a while Because the cost of daycare is extremely high, and that is not at the fault of the daycare center.”

Costs of daycare are high, Zehr suggested. Child care centers need help and so do the families. For Zehr, the issue goes back to the worker shortage and the challenges of minimum wage. If there is someone with kids at home trying to make a choice on a job and the wages are too low, they’ll likely stay home.

Wood said daycare centers are driven by need, and to get workers they need they should pay those workers what they’re worth. Does the state use tax money to help offset that cost? Wood said it depends and questioned where the money would be directed away from.

Rozenboom pointed to the role of government and again called Zehr’s comments into question, specifically the high costs of child care and underpaid daycare workers. Obviously, there’s a problem there, Rozenboom said. Is it the role of government to fill that bucket? Rozenboom said not necessarily.

“Employers have stepped up in a large way. In public-private partnerships, I think it has to be that way,” he said. “I think families also have to make the decision of whether they are more needed in the workplace or they are more needed at home as a family.”

If the government needs to pay more to child care workers and also reduce the cost to parents, Rozenboom said there is a gap that needs to be filled and he does not believe it all should be filled by government.

Stewart called out Dunwell’s concerns about the state being involved from birth through college, saying if the government is going to be forcing women to give birth to children then it absolutely should. To say it would be irresponsible to invest in kids and child care is “crazy,” to him.

“We absolutely should be investing in them,” Stewart said. “We cannot rely on big corporations, private corporations to take care and provide child care. That’s not something we can rely on. Corporations have proven time and time again that they’re more worried about profits than the people that work for them.”

With a $1.9 billion surplus, Stewart said that funding could go towards helping out child care centers. If Jasper County and other communities within the House and Senate districts want to attract families, then lawmakers better make sure there are child care facilities. For many, he added, child care is a barrier.

“If we want small communities to thrive, then we need to step up to the plate and fund something that will actually reinvest in our communities,” Stewart said.

INFLATION IS PUTTING PRESSURE ON IOWA FAMILIES

Inflation is rearing its ugly head, affecting families across Iowa and throughout the United States. When asked how to thwart this “dangerous trend,” candidates were split on who was to blame. Republicans pointed to President Joe Biden. Stewart said oil companies are making big profits while Americans are struggling.

“Why are we not pointing the finger at them? You could point them at the Biden administration and we could do all of those things, but let’s be realistic and honest with each other: We just went through a historic pandemic. Supply chains are still kind of coming together right now,” Stewart said.

Coupled with the war in Ukraine, Stewart noted people need to be realistic, be cognizant of what’s going on nationally and look at those who are causing the issues. Referencing the state’s surplus, he said some states are issuing refund checks to citizens to help with inflation. But that’s not going to solve the crisis.

It’s a bandage for a wound that will be fixed shortly, Stewart said, but it requires people to work together and not point fingers at political parties. Rozenboom defined inflation for the audience, saying it is “too much money following too few goods.” The Biden administration, he added, is overspending.

To him, it’s the undeniable cause of inflation. But it cannot be fixed at the state level, he said. The Iowa Legislature, Rozenboom added, did a lot last year to alleviate the pressure by lowering the income tax of Iowans. It is a one-time fix. If inflation rates continue to rise, the legislature can’t cover it.

“I think we left Iowa in a much better position to deal with inflation because of the tax changes we made this past year,” Rozenboom said. “… As Sen. (Amy) Sinclair said earlier in the session last year: We can’t fix Biden’s inflation at the state level. Period.”

Washington, D.C. needs to follow Iowa’s example, Dunwell said. The whole reason the state issued a 3.9 percent flat tax and eliminated tax on retirement income was to bring relief to Iowans. Dunwell said when people have more money they will invest it, grow the economy and reduce inflation.

“You also need to be fiscally responsible with your budget,” he said. “So holding our budget to less than 2 percent growth is absolutely crucial. It’s something they don’t know or understand in Washington, D.C. Iowa is also a leader in the ‘all-the-above’ strategy in energy.”

Addressing Stewart’s comments about the state’s surplus, Dunwell said it exists to buy down tax relief to Iowans. He also said blaming the energy companies “is irresponsible and ignorant and is not the correct response from the Biden administration.” The real energy issue is energy independence.

“And beginning to promote green energy to a detriment to the country,” he said.

Zehr agreed with Stewart that inflation is not about blaming. Rising costs affect every Iowan and it takes collaboration to find solutions, he said, and he questioned why the Biden administration gets all the blame when inflation is a global issue. More money for less goods is a result of the pandemic, he said.

“That is the far greater contributor to the reason we have these inflation issues,” Zehr said. “That’s why the entire world is seeing it. And I disagree, we can take measures here in Iowa to address this. We can take measures to help the people who are struggling the most.”

There are measures the state can take to make inflation easier on families, people with kids and people with low-wage jobs. Zehr claimed tax credits and affordable housing could help inflation. Striving for energy independence is important, which he said is why green energy is so important.

To offset inflation, Wood said lawmakers need to let Iowans keep more of their own money. Iowans should not have to pay the government to go to work, he said. Wood would be in favor of reducing Iowa’s income tax to zero. McCulla said we cannot spend our way out of the issue of inflation.

“We are on the right trajectory to make our state to be a model for across the country,” she said. “People are watching us now, seeing what our governor has done. And we need to continue down that road. So with that being said I think that we as a state are going to be in a much better place than some other states.”

CODIFYING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DISCUSSION GETS HEATED

Closing the forum was a question about supporting a law that to codify same-sex marriage into state law. In general, Zehr is in favor of protecting rights and freedoms of Iowans, especially those of marginalized citizens. The majority of people in the United States support marriages of two consenting adults, he said.

“To have these hateful legislations and these hateful rulings that make it so you are somehow less than if you are a certain way or there’s a right way to live or a right way to pray or a right way to — that is not the role of the government,” Zehr said. “The government should make it so that you are protected to live your life.”

Wood would also support a way to codify same-sex marriage in Iowa. He, too, does not believe it is the government’s job to allow two people of differing sex to get married and then disallow two people of same sex to not get married. It should be protected through state law, he added.

McCulla referenced the Bible. In the beginning, she said, God made a man and a woman, and she believes that is the only way a relationship should be.

“And I’m going to stand on that,” she said.

Dunwell said part of his struggle comes when “constantly having to redefine certain terms.” When redefining what marriage looks like or topics regarding gender, Dunwell said those are very uncomfortable topics for him. People live in a pluralistic society. He said he accepts that.

“I accept that the world doesn’t see things exactly the way I see things, but I do struggle greatly with the infringement that says, ‘I not only get to express myself the way I want to, but you have to take a knee and bow before it and you have to accept it,’” Dunwell said. “That’s the part that causes me tremendous unease.”

Legislation that codifies same-sex marriage seems offensive to the freedom and rights as Americans, Dunwell added. He also rejects the notion to take “these very important institutions that have existed” and have the right to redefine them, referencing the Des Moines Register’s rejection of a letter by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“That kind of censorship, that kind of value of control in America is unhealthy, unwise and I don’t find to even be acceptable,” he said. “We have the freedom to express ourselves but we also should have the freedom to disagree with what other people do.”

Rozenboom would not support codifying same-sex marriage into state law, saying the issue is not up for discussion at the state level at this point. The senator said his world and life views are based on the Bible, referencing what McCulla has said earlier: God created man and woman.

“Not something else. Not 58 different genders. He created man and woman. So while I do not believe any of us will be finished with the gay marriage issue in Iowa, I would simply say that we have accepted — because as Jon said we are a pluralistic society — we have accepted things that some of us are not personally comfortable with,” Rozenboom said.

He added, “I’m more than happy for you to have your gay pride parade. That’s fine. Just don’t make me dance in it. OK? Don’t make me become part of this. And that’s what seems to be happening right now. It’s not good enough to be tolerant of that, it’s that we have to join the parade.”

Stewart did not agree with the Republicans’ comments, saying they were “horrifically offensive.” Personal beliefs aside, Stewart said what people want is equal rights. Letting a man marry another man or letting a woman marry another woman is not asking a lot. It may make them feel uncomfortable.

“But when you can’t say or answer that question (to) provide equal rights, that has an impact. That has impact in our schools. That is a group of kids that do no feel that they are loved. “Homophobia is on the rise,” Stewart said, noting kids are being called homophobic slurs in the hallways. “…I see it on a daily basis.”

Not everyone subscribes to Republicans’ faith, Stewart added, and that’s OK because there are religious freedoms.

“We cannot sit there and legislate one belief, one religion into everybody’s lifestyle,” he said before Rozenboom tried to interrupt, causing the Democratic candidate to reclaim his time. “…I’m here to show that everybody, every kid, every person, every citizen, every single one of my constituents is loved.”

Election Day is Nov. 8.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com