“It was inevitable that this was going to happen,” state Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, said of the bill.

He noted that the state Senate had approved a version of it three times previously, and added that it was a top priority for Gov. Kim Reynolds.

State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, said that she and her husband, Dr. Jim Meyer, were able to send their son to a private school because they felt that it could best serve his needs and they had the money to do so. The education savings accounts created by the new law will make that option available to those who now can’t afford a private or parochial school education, she said.

“Any mother, any dad, any family should not be limited by income,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Iowa Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, makes a point Saturday morning during the first Eggs and Issues forum at Iowa Central Community College.

State Rep. Mike Sexton, R- Rockwell City, agreed to support the bill after House leaders made some changes that he requested. The biggest of those changes extends the amount of time that school districts can get extra money if they share a superintendent or other personnel. That funding for what is called operational sharing was to expire in two years. The amendment Sexton secured will extend the funding for an additional 10 years.

During Saturday morning’s forum, he said the new law may increase student achievement.

He said 27 other states already have such a program, and 25 of them have shown increases in student achievement.

“I think all of us sitting up here believe a rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.

Early in the forum, the lawmakers were sometimes interrupted by shouts and questions from opponents of the law in the audience of about 50 people. Jim Kersten, who moderated the forum, was able to quickly quiet the audience and keep the forum orderly.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Audience members listen Saturday morning as Iowa Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, answers a question during the Eggs and Issues forum at Iowa Central Community College.

The lawmakers also received some unusually blunt questions, such as, “Why did you pass this in the middle of the night?” and “Why are you taking local control away from schools?”

The question-and-answer session played out in front of a theatrical background, literally. Kraayenbrink, Meyer and Sexton were seated at tables on the stage of the auditorium in the Bioscience and Health Science Building at Iowa Central Community College. They were surrounded by the sets for the college’s spring play “May We All.”

According to Kraayenbrink, the education savings account law has these main components:

• Allows parents to apply for $7,600 from the state government that would be placed in an education savings account, which would then be used to pay for tuition at private or parochial schools.

• Gives school districts $1,200 for every student within their boundaries who attends private or parochial schools.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
IIowa State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, answers an audience question Saturday morning during the Eggs and Issues forum at Iowa Central Community College. Iowa State Rep. Mike Sexton, R-Rockwell City, listens behind her.

• Eases restrictions on how school districts can spend money earmarked for teacher leadership or talented and gifted programs

The state House of Representatives passed the bill at 9:20 p.m Jan. 23 and the state Senate passed it at 12:30 a.m. Jan. 24. Reynolds signed it into law on Jan. 24.

Kraayenbrink blamed the late Senate vote on the chamber’s Democrats, who he said “kept us in caucus for five or six hours.” Caucuses are closed door meetings of members of the same party in the House or Senate.

The senator said that in the last year, Reynolds made about 2,500 public appearances and her support for this law was the first thing she mentioned at every one of those appearances.

“Really it wasn’t a secret that this was going to happen,” he said. “The governor even primaried some of her people in the House who were against it. She was very serious about this.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
An audience member records the Saturday morning Eggs and Issues session at Iowa Central on their phone.

Kraayenbrink said the law gives parents control over their children’s education.

“They were trapped,” he said. “Now they truly have a choice. Parents are going to make their decisions by walking to another school.”

Sexton assured the audience that use of the education savings accounts will be regulated by the state government.

“This whole thing is going to be managed by the Department of Education,” he said. “There’s going to be a ton of oversight.”

Eggs and issues is sponsored by the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance and Iowa Central Community College.