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As Governor, Iowa Senator Nate Boulton Says He Would Put State Support Back In Education

Iowa Senator Nate Boulton Signs DMACC Pledge as sign of his commitment to education

 

Iowa Senator, Nate Boulton, is one of seven Democratic candidates who have declared their intentions to run for the governor’s seat in 2018. Boulton made a stop in Carroll and Sac Counties yesterday as a part of his “Hometown Values” Tour, saying that even though he currently represents the urban populations in East Des Moines and Pleasant Hill, his roots are in the small town of Columbus Junction. He believes our problems, challenges and opportunities are all connected.

Boulton’s focus, right now, is to make sure that we are all talking about those problems and solutions. He addressed a group of students and staff at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Carroll, touching on one of the most important topics to everyone in the room, our state’s educational system. He says Iowa has been a leader because of our strong public pre-k through 12th-grade systems as well as our colleges and universities and the quality education that they can provide through their partnerships and initiatives. However, Boulton adds, if we continue to underfund education, we are threatening the quality of life and our economic prosperity for the long-term.

As a former educator, one of the biggest threats Boulton believes the state is facing is the declining interest in pursuit of such careers. Not only is the pay not keeping pace with our surrounding states, according to Boulton, the changes made to collective bargaining during last year’s legislative session are having a dramatic impact on the next wave of teachers.

Boulton says we just can’t rely on a passion for teaching to entice young people into the profession. He says it is going to take a change in the legislature to gain back the lost public-sector bargaining rights and bring the necessary funding back to the state’s educational system at all levels.

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