Chronicle Editorial

Reinvest in our rural districts
                Another extended General Assembly was potentially adverted last week when the Iowa Legislature compromised on next year’s K-12 education budget. Though the deal was a welcomed change of pace from previous gridlock, it still creates concerns for many rural school districts in Iowa.
                Education funding has been one of the more divisive topics in Des Moines over the past few years. Tight budgets have left schools struggling to meet classroom demands, and many education leaders have been critical of Iowa’s lawmakers for selling our schools short. It’s unfortunate, but true in many cases. Rural enrollment has experienced noticeable decline in comparison to Iowa’s metro areas. These districts try to budget responsibly to deal with the changing times, but per-pupil state funding typically isn’t enough to cover enrollment dips. This leads to smaller budgets and cuts to student resources.
                These realities leave our rural districts at a severe disadvantage. Technology, education standards and student demographics have continued to evolve at a rapid pace despite tight funding. Nonetheless, our rural schools are expected to meet student achievement thresholds. Many are able to excel despite the odds, but their ability to do so in the face of continued adversity will be challenged greatly over the next few years. You can only do so much with so little for a certain amount of time.
                Whether or not the Legislature addresses these funding discrepancies for rural districts remains to be seen. Many options exist that would help ease the financial burden, like additional funding for transportation. Many rural schools find themselves hemorrhaging money to keep bus routes available to students. These districts have a lot of ground to cover, and fuel and busses aren’t cheap. It would behoove the Legislature to develop a special plan to help alleviate a portion of the transportation burden for rural schools. It might not seem like much, but everything helps during lean times.
                This year’s education budget was a mixed bag. Yes, funding increased compared to last year, but probably not enough for many districts across the state. Despite criticism, Iowa’s K-12 schools continue to receive a majority of new spending each year. That’s worth noting, but it’s not enough for the state’s rural schools. Lawmakers must look at ways to address these discrepancies and think outside of the box when seeking solutions. Rural school districts play a vital role in educating Iowa’s future workforce and they deserve an investment that helps them keep up with changing times.
 
Lowering the bar, again
     Despite a smaller field of candidates, the presidential race continued to outdo itself in the worst of ways last week.
     Donald Trump verbally attacked Ted Cruz’s wife, Cruz himself was accused of multiple extramarital affairs, Hillary Clinton’s email scandal seemed to worsen, and protests once again led to more finger pointing and blame from Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Though each new week seems to surpass itself in lunacy, it’s all par for the course during this presidential election.
     It’s been noted before, but it’s worth mentioning again: These squabbles only work to shift our attention away from the real issues affecting our country. By allowing candidates to get sidetracked into meaningless argument and personal vendettas, the media and American public are giving them a free pass. Unfortunately, this has defined the 2016 campaign. Hardly any candidate has been able to resist crawling into the mud to get extra attention, which has been a severe detriment to the state of American politics.
     Political pundits have been quick to point out that these outlandish attacks and accusations are nothing new. While that may be true, it doesn’t make it right. The extreme lack of decorum throughout the campaign has been rather unsettling to say the least. These individuals are running for our nation’s highest office, and it’s past time they start acting like it.