DES MOINES — Behind the podium of a congested Iowa House Chamber, Gov. Kim Reynolds laid out her agenda to increase teacher’s salaries in the 2024 legislative session. 

Giving the seventh Condition of the State Address of her career, Reynolds called on Iowa’s legislators to invest $96 million to raise teachers’ starting pay and set a minimum salary for teachers with at least 12 years of experience. 

The funds will increase teacher’s starting pay to $50,000, a 50 growth from their current starting pay, and set a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years of experience. 

“We want younger Iowans to see the teaching profession as something to aspire to,” Reynolds said. “It’s one of the highest calling one can have, so let’s make sure that teacher pay sends that message.” 

In addition to the investment, Reynolds will allocate $10 million to a merit-based grant program for teachers who go “above and beyond to help their students succeed.” 

Reynolds said the investment will boost Iowa into the top five states for starting pay and help recruit “the best and brightest” into the teaching profession. 

In response to Reynolds announcement, Konfrst said the fight to raise teachers’ pay is not new. Knofrst voiced concern about increased pay for other educational professionals such as paraprofessionals. 

“We welcome the governor to the cause of increasing teacher pay,” Konfrst said. “​​We are thrilled to hear that these teachers are going to get more money and I hope that that means that the governor and Republicans will start to respect teachers as the professionals that they are.” 

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said that House Republicans are committed to working with the governor on teacher pay. 

During her last Condition of the State address, Reynolds announced a bold legislative agenda — that she delivered on — including passing school choice legislation, enacting anti-abortion policies, and reorganizing the state government. 

Reynolds became the first woman to serve as Governor of Iowa in 2017. She took over the role when prolific Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad stepped down after former President Donald Trump appointed him to be the U.S. Ambassador to China. 

The following year, Reynolds ran for the position and won, becoming Iowa’s first elected female governor. 

An October 2023 poll by Emerson College found Reynolds with 32 percent approval among Iowans with 39 percent disapproving of the job she had done in the office. 

According to the poll, Reynolds held a 55 percent approval rating within the Republican party and a 72 percent disapproval rating from Democrats. Reynolds also struggled with the favor of independent voters, with 44 percent disapproving of her job as governor. 

Reynolds announces special education reform

Reynolds also announced a myriad of reforms for Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. Under legislation proposed by Reynolds, the nine agencies that serve Iowa school districts would be restricted to offering special education services overseen by the Iowa Department of Education and remove requirements for school districts to get special education services from AEAs. 

Reynolds said the reforms are needed because of lackluster assessment scores where Reynolds says Special Education is performing below the national average. She also said Iowa also spends $5,300 more per pupil on special education than the national average.

Reynolds said rumors that this review and reform would include eliminating AEAs are not true, and the legislation would take special education “off autopilot.” 

“We are simply giving control of the funding to those who work directly with your child on a daily basis, and we’re taking special education off autopilot, where it has been stuck for far too long,” Reynolds said. “Once again, let’s drive transformational change and do what’s right for our children. Being able to read is a key component of every child’s success.” 

Grassley said that House Republicans are committed to delivering on the governor’s priorities and that there will not be a complete elimination, but rather a streamlining of services. 

Konfrst said that as mental health care availability continues to decline in the state, the mental health services provided by AEA’s are crucial, especially in the wake of the school shooting in Perry where AEA professionals responded and provided mental health support. 

“They’re the first responders for mental health a lot of times in small communities,” Konfrst said. “So she’s — she’s talking about the need for behavioral health, which is taking away one of the biggest tools that rural Iowa has for behavioral health for kids and that is AEA services.”

Reynolds commends Perry High School principal, address lacks action on shooting

Reynolds opened her seventh Condition of the State speech by discussing the fatal school shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa, last Thursday. 

The shooting resulted in the death of 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, a sixth-grade student, and injured five others, including Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger. 

Reynolds commended Marburger, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and has since undergone extensive surgery, for his “unflinching bravery.” 

“Dan is a hero,” Reynolds said. “And we pray that he’s soon back where he belongs, with the students who are so lucky to have him.” 

On Monday, Reynolds released a signed disaster proclamation for Dallas County in response to the shooting. 

The disaster proclamation, announced hours after an Iowa March for Our Lives protest in the rotunda of the Capitol Building, allows state aid from all Iowa agencies to assist the Perry community without the interference of bureaucratic processes. 

Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D – Windsor Heights commented on Reynolds’ lack of discussion regarding gun policy. 

“One of the best ways to honor the community of Perry who just endured this shooting is to come up with policies that will make it so there’s not another school shooting,” Konfrst said. “The governor had absolutely no proposals for that tonight, which is incredibly frustrating because Iowans are looking for answers to this school shooting epidemic.” 

Governor announces expedited tax cuts

Reynolds heralded an expedited cut of the individual income tax during her address. Under the proposed legislation individual income tax would be reduced to a flat rate of 3.65 percent this tax year and would apply to earned income retroactively and would again be reduced in tax year 2025 to a flat 3.5 percent. 

Reynolds pointed to a $1.83 billion budget surplus for fiscal 2023 as evidence that Iowa was collecting to much tax revenue. 

“Let me be absolutely clear: the surplus does not mean that we aren’t spending enough; it means we’re still taking too much of Iowans’ hard-earned money,” Reynolds said. 

Whitver, the leader of Senate Republicans, said that he is hoping to reduce taxes as much as possible while still being “responsible.” 

Jochum said Democrats want to make sure that middle class Iowans also benefit from the tax cuts and that tax cuts have disproporitnately benefits Iowans who make more than $1 million a year. 

“Our goal has always been to make sure that the middle class or the people who most benefit from any change,” Jochum said. “Whatever we do, will be sustainable, that we can maintain essential services.”

In a press conference on the first floor of the Iowa Capitol Building on Monday, Anne Discher, the executive director of Common Good Iowa, a policy research and advocacy organization, said there will be big trade-offs for tax cuts. 

Discher said the tax cuts enacted already benefit the wealthiest Iowans who earn $1.5 million a year saving $60,000 a year, while low-earning Iowans who earn $17,000 a year will see only $48 in savings a year, and median-earning Iowans with $70,000 a year see $1,440 in tax savings. 

Discher said if Republicans eliminated the income tax in Iowa, the state budget would be cut in half and Iowans would see radical cuts to school budgets, fewer mental health services, larger college tuition bills, dirty water, and fewer services overall. 

Iowa’s income tax rate is currently projected to reach a flat 3.9 percent by 2026. Enforcing a flat tax rate applies the same rate to all taxpayers despite income. Implementing the flat rate will shift Iowa from having the eighth-highest individual rate in the nation to the fourth-lowest.  

Reynolds, supported by Iowa Republican lawmakers, aims to eliminate the state’s income tax by the end of her term in 2027. 

Reynolds announces legislation to expand postpartum medicaid coverage

Reynolds proposed to expand postpartum medical coverage beyond Medicaid’s allotted two months after birth. 

For new moms earning less than $42,000 a year, coverage would extend to 12 months. 

Reynolds passed the fetal heartbeat bill in a special session of the Iowa Legislature in July 2023 after the Iowa Supreme Court was deadlocked on whether a 2018 near-total abortion ban was constitutional. 

“By passing the heartbeat bill, we affirmed an essential truth: every Iowan counts,” Reynolds said. “To continue building a robust culture of life, we must also do everything in our power to ensure new moms and their families — especially those who are struggling — have what they need to make ends meet.” 

Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D – Windsor Heights, said Iowa democrats introduced a 12 month postpartum care bill last year. 

Konfrst criticized Reynolds’ proposal to change the qualifying threshold and questioned why legislation couldn’t be expanded to provide care for new moms who need it. 

Grassley commented on his desire for Republicans to continue to discuss postpartum care and birth control. 

Reynolds looks to expand behavioral health services 

Reynolds proposed new initiatives to expand and unify behavioral health services across Iowa. 

Reynolds said there is a lack of coordination between the state’s 13 mental health and 19 substance-use regions, and proposed to combine the regions into seven behavioral health districts. 

“Our state is filled with capable professionals who care about getting Iowans the support they need. But their talent and dedication are short-changed by a fractured system that makes coordination almost impossible,” Reynolds said. 

Reynolds also proposed utilizing Iowa’s opioid settlement funds to increase support for behavioral health services. She predicts the funds and the district unification will improve connectivity and deliver treatment to Iowans when and where they need it. 

Konfrst, leader of the House Democrats, said she is not optimistic about Reynolds’ remarks regarding this care because Iowans have less access to mental health care now than when Reynolds began discussing it. 

“Here’s what matters most, Iowans do not care about what the regions look like or where the people are coming from, Iowans want to know they have access to mental health care and substance abuse care,” Konfrst said.  

Reynolds announced a new youth behavioral-health facility, Ember Recovery Campus, which will hold 70 beds and maintain focus on emergency shelter, crisis stabilization, and addiction treatment. 

The facility will be the first of its kind in the state and represents the largest public and private investment in children’s behavioral health in Iowa’s history.