Please do not strip lowa's AEAs (area education agencies) of their services. I have taught in Iowa high schools for 39 years and was lead instructor of the Morningside College alternative teacher licensure program for 12 years. I constantly made use of Northwest AEA's services in both positions for academic contests, curricular materials, and educational technology support.

What is the rationale for this bill? What are the reasons for destroying an educational support system that has functioned well since the 1960s? Is it to privatize Iowa public education? Would it allow the legislature to cut enough spending in order to meet the governor's desire to eliminate the income tax? Legislators do not need to rubber stamp everything the governor wants.

If mental illness is a factor in school shootings, why would we shut down the agencies that provide counseling. If the idea is to consolidate services in the Iowa Department of Education, the department has never been effective in aiding educational programs in local schools. The AEAs are strategically located to provide timely services, especially to small rural districts.

This bill needs a lengthy public discussion for parents and educators to ask questions as to motive and to relate positive experiences with their area agencies.

Please don't rush House Bill 542 through without public input and transparency. A midnight vote as has happened with previous education bills in the Iowa Legislature would look much like an authoritarian regime's behavior.

Martin L Peterson,
Denison, IA

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