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Expanded Preschool, Teacher Recruitment And Student Mental Health Are CCSD School Board’s Legislative Priority Recommendations For 2021-22

The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education has selected their 2021-22 legislative priority recommendations for the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB). Each year, boards are asked to submit four issues that they consider critical for their district, which are then brought to the attention of the state legislature. At last night’s (Monday) meeting, Superintendent, Dr. Casey Berlau, presented the issues he felt were most pressing to the board, the first being increased access to preschool programming.

Berlau would like to see state funding increased by 100 percent per student to support whole-day preschool. Berlau also had two recommendations regarding educator quality, and both deal with attracting teachers to the state’s rural districts.

Berlau’s final recommendation is one that appears on nearly every board’s list of priorities, and that is to set the annual Supplemental State Aid (SSA) at a high-enough rate to continually improve Iowa’s public education system. He adds it would be preferable if the legislature determines SSA in a timely enough manner to permit administrators enough time to prepare good budgets for the next fiscal year. Several board members, including Duane Horsley, Jen Munson and Cindy Johnson, requested student mental health be added to their IASB legislative priorities.

The board directed Berlau to submit all five of the identified issues to the IASB. If one topic needs to be cut, they will replace market competitive wages on CCSD’s list. District’s must submit their priorities by Wednesday, Aug. 11. The IASB will then use the various recommendations from throughout the state to craft their legislative platform.

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