To the editor:

In the Daily Freeman Journal’s sister paper, The Fort Dodge Messenger, State Representative Ann Meyer attempted to take the Iowa Democrats to task over school spending. She covers the money allocated to the schools and says the increases make the 2 percent that the Legislature passed come up to a 2.8 percent increase by the time transportation and equity increases were allotted. In the Des Moines Register the governor this past week said she was proud of the 2 percent increase in school spending.

The tell of the tale was all you have to do is Google the inflation rate for 2024 and it comes up with the U.S. government saying the inflation rate was 2.9 percent.

Representative Meyer was pointing that this would be the second year of wage increase to bring first- and second-year teachers on par with their peers; for those teachers that have been in the trenches, they received 2 percent increases.

Sadly, the Iowa government considers it a win even when they don’t meet parity. The teachers on the whole show a dedication to their profession that most people fail to realize.

Webster City lost a teacher who showed great pride in her work and went beyond what many people don’t realize. Heidi Kayser, the art teacher for the Webster City Middle School, passed away. She not only taught art and presented the yearly art show, but also maintained the flower beds around the school and took great pride in it. When she was no longer able to take care of it, her husband came down and took care of them for her. The things we don’t see are what make our teachers worth more than we give them credit for.

Many people are upset with the local government over increased property taxes and user fees, but it’s the only way to keep our schools, cities and counties properly funded. The job of the state is to collect taxes and distribute the money. In this respect, the state has sadly fallen short on those needs. We continue to give huge tax breaks to millionaires and businesses that don’t reinvest in Iowa, and in some respects it’s a double-edged sword. They want a trained, educated workforce, but not one that expects to be paid accordingly, and those that get even a high school education expect to make more than minimal subsistence wages.

The workforce the businesses want is leaving the state. One of our lawmakers at the beginning of the year said we should take over the southern counties of Minnesota. I guess that’s one way of raising the median wage in Iowa, but attracting business here would be even better.

I support the efforts of the City Council in their efforts to bring business to Webster City. I’m hoping the rail hub initiative pans out. I believe, besides the transportation business aspect, it would draw industry here with easier access to markets.

But the downfall leads back to state funding which has been sadly lacking. In the days of Iowa being ranked in the top 10, education was funded at 4 percent. With the budgets that are being passed, the Legislature knows beforehand that there is a shortfall and the money will come out of the rainy day fund which at a certain point kicks in automatic cuts to social programs.

The money in the rainy day fund came from increases in the unemployment taken out of everyone’s pay checks. After the drastic shortcomings during the past recessions it was deemed a safety net for the state and the people. It’s now down to 19 weeks again and we are staring at a possible recession again.

The people of Perry and other cities that have witnessed plant closings and layoffs are already out of the safety net. We seem to have short memories and learned nothing from the experiences of the past. The Legislature also cut the tax rate and amount of tax tables for the fund.

At a recent meeting with state Rep. (Shannon) Latham and Sen. (Dennis) Guth, yup he was there for that one, it was before the crowds turned rowdy, he said after the official part of the meeting if people don’t like it they could just leave. He’s supposed to represent us and I guess my thought is, if you don’t want to hear it, fix it or find a new job.

We are at a point where changes need to be made and the people who are there want to stand for the party rather than the people. Parties each have their leanings, but in the end are supposed to represent us.

Education doesn’t seem to be one of those priorities, sadly.

Michael Dingman

Webster City