Iowa Democrats use faulty data to pin school closures on voucher program
House Democrats claim 16 public schools have closed due to the start of the program
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) - Iowa House Democrats on Friday claimed the state’s new school vouchers have caused public schools to close.
Passed in 2023, Iowa taxpayers have already spent $360 million on the Educational Savings Accounts program. It gives scholarships of up to $7,800 to pay for private school instead of public.
Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst claimed Friday that’s boosted private schools across the state, mostly in urban areas. “We have seen 36 new private schools open in this state in the last two years and only four of those are in rural communities,” she said.
Thirteen of the 36 new private schools are in the Des Moines metro.
“The majority of those schools have opened this year. We know that they knew the voucher program was in existence and was coming and it gave them a reason to build here,” she said.
State Rep. Sue Cahill of Marshalltown says the program is affecting students across the state, especially in rural areas. She says the East Marshall School District is looking at realigning the district and closing one school.
“Enrollment is going down and the fact that they don’t have a lot of access to private schools means that their district money is going to others across the state who do have access,” Cahill said.
But the exact impact is not clear. House Democrats claim 16 public schools have closed since the start of the program.
We fact-checked their list and found schools that are still open; some that closed due to new schools being built; and even a private school on their list.
- Lincoln Elementary (Boone School District) - The school closed because a new one was built.
- CAM North Elementary (CAM School District) - District leaders moved students to one building due to concerns about enrollment, which had been discussed dating back to 2019.
- Cedar Rapids Virtual Academy Middle (Cedar Rapids School District) - The online academy was created due to the pandemic and discontinued in the 2022-2023 school year. CRSD created another virtual option to take its place.
- Central Preschool (Central School District) - We spoke with a staff member on the telephone, who says the preschool is still open.
- Buchanan Elementary (Davenport School District) - The school was closed due to low enrollment.
- Monroe Elementary (Davenport School District) - The school was closed and demolished due to its age.
- I-35 Middle School (I-35 School District) - The district realigned their buildings and grade levels in part due to district finances, staff departures, and decreased enrollment.
- Hospers Elementary (MOC Floyd Valley School District) - Voters approved a bond referendum to build a new, bigger school due to increasing enrollment.
- Aurora Heights Elm School (Newton School District) - The school is temporarily closed for renovations.
- Fayette Elementary (North Fayette Valley School District) - District leaders discussed closing the school before school vouchers were signed into law.
- Southeast Valley High School (Prairie Valley School District) - The Southeast-Webster-Grand and Prairie Valley school districts merged and the school is still open.
- Southeast Warren Intermediate (Southeast Warren) - The school closed due to declining enrollment.
- Rolling Green Elementary (Urbandale School District) - Students moved to a different building a half mile away due to a bond referendum.
- Rural Elementary School #3 (Wapsie Valley School District) - A school staffer confirmed via phone that the school had closed, but the superintendent never called us back to confirm the reason for the closure.
- Blessed Sacrament Early Childhood Center (Waterloo School District) - This is a private school. An official confirmed that the school was temporarily closed until repairs are complete.
- West Branch Early Learning Center (West Branch School District) - This school is still open.
Notably, the list does not include the closure of Hills Elementary, which cited the voucher program as a reason for closing.
Mason Mauro, a spokesman for Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office, says there’s errors in the list of new private schools too.
“The numbers released by the Democrat legislators in their press conference today are so inaccurate that it seems like they are trying to intentionally mislead Iowans,” Mauro said.
He says many of the new private schools aren’t new, just newly accredited. Mauro says some of the schools on their list have been in operation for years, and one of the schools on their list does not exist.
House Democrats say they got their data from the Iowa Department of Education website.
Heather Doe, a spokeswoman for the department, said Democrats never reached out to them. She adds the list Democrats used is a list of building directories with addresses and contact information to be used by families, and it is not an official record of all school buildings that have either opened or closed.
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
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