DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate has rejected a bill that would have let results from an errant vote stand in the town of Adel.  The Des Moines Register reports that Adel voters approved the 1-cent local sales tax in August 2010. But then officials learned the election was improperly conducted. Iowa law says that unless a town has at least 50 percent of a county’s population, then the vote must include other areas of the county, even though it would apply only to a specific jurisdiction.  City officials say that even if the vote had been taken countywide, the measure would have passed.  City leaders asked the Legislature to approve a legislative exception so the Adel vote could stand.  The House approved the bill. On Tuesday the Senate didn’t.

An education reform plan has cleared the legislature. Crafters of the compromise suggest the bill’s focus on literacy in the early elementary grades is the hallmark of the package. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, was the senate’s lead negotiator. “Under the bill we will annually be assessing the reading proficiency of kindergarteners, first graders, second graders and third graders, so that if any kid is falling behind in reading proficiency, we will find out about that as soon as possible,” Quirmbach says. Republican Governor Terry Branstad recommended that all third graders who cannot read at grade level be required to repeat the grade. Legislators have voted instead to give parents two options if their child completes third grade, but cannot read at a third grade level.

“Either the child goes through an intensive summer reading program that summer after third grade or they repeat third grade,” Quirmbach says. “The parent must make that decision.” The threat of having poor readers repeating third grade won’t kick in until the 2016/2017 school year, however. Representative Royd Chambers, a Republican from Sheldon, was the lead negotiator for the House. “It’s not as strong of a reform bill as I would like, but this is what we could come up with,” Chambers says. “But I still believe it’s a very substantive bill.” The bill limits enrollment in the two Iowa school districts that are conducting all classes on the Internet and calls for a study of such on-line academies. It means CAM Schools in Anita and Clayton Ridge in Guttenberg will have no more than nine-hundred students. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it gives state policymakers time to review how on-line academies are working, or having difficulties, in other states.

“I am glad we’re putting some limits on on-line learning,” Mascher says. “I was extremely concerned about opening this up in a way that would have allowed many, many students to participate without have the quality control in place.” Legislators also decided against having all 11th graders take the A-C-T and rejected the governor’s call to require all college students seeking a teaching degree maintain a three-point grade average. Republican-led efforts to end the “last hired, first fired” aspect of schoolhouse layoffs were unsuccessful. Governor Branstad has said he wants the 2013 Iowa legislature to tackle teacher pay issues and consider other education reform ideas.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education Tuesday night, approved a two-year agreement with the District’s Non-Certified Staff, amounting to a 2.5% pay increase for all employees. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said the district would cover the health premium and IPERS increases, and move the vacation day from a half- to a full-day (News Year’s Eve day). The agreement also includes a freeze in the salary schedule, and an advancement for 39 experienced employees only. The Longevity amount range would be increased from 39.5-cents to a more easily calculated 40-cents. The total package increase for the 2012-2013 school year amounts to a little more than 4.52-percent.

For the 2013-2014 School Year, there be a 2.55-percent pay increase for all employees, in addition to covering the costs for mandatory training for any employees who need to be re-certified in certain areas. The total package for 2013-2012 amounts 4.56%, for an average two-year total of 4.54%. Amstein recommended the Board approve the package, because of its similarity to the package the District agreed to, with its Certified Staff.

Amstein says the cost of IPERS increases is not factored in to the 2013-2014 school year contract, because it’s an unknown factor. Only the language in the contract would be renegotiated. If there’s an increase, the employees would have to absord that cost for that year.  Amstein said he thinks it’s a “Very Fair” contract, that helps the District budget for next year and the upcoming year, by knowing what the major costs will be, with 80-percent of the budget being employee salaries. The total dollar amount of the package was not available at last night’s meeting.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved the 2011-2012 Certified Budget Amendment, which Business Manager and Board Secretary Mary Beth Fast said wouldn’t exceed the total amount certified earlier this year. The largest expenditures in the amended budget are expected to come in the form of Non-Instructional Programs, such as nutrition and the management fund. Another increase was in the area of Capital Expenditures. Fast says when they certified the budget one-year ago, they didn’t know what the timing of the payments was going to be to the architects and engineers. Now that they do, Fast said they realized they would be over the amount specified in the certified budget. She says she’s “Comfortable with the numbers that have been published…” that the District would stay within its budget. A repercussion of not doing so, she said, would be that it would show up in the Audit report.

Today (Wednesday) is National Bike to School Day, as kids across Iowa and nationwide skip the carpool or the bus and use pedal power. Angela Berry, one of the day’s Midwest coordinators, says it’s a celebration for students and it builds on the popularity of the International Walk to School Day, held in October. Berry says, “Bike to School Day seeks to raise awareness about the need for safe routes to bike and walk and emphasize the importance of such issues as increasing physical activity among children, reducing traffic congestion and protecting the environment.” With the event being tomorrow, Barry says today would be a good time for parents to review bicycle safety tips with their kids — and to map out the best routes to and from school.

“Wearing a helmet, making sure they have the right equipment,” she says. “Choose the safest route. Teach your children proper bicycle hand signals. Use common sense and avoid those strangers. Tell children not to speak to strangers and to ride away if approached.” She says these subtle steps will provide parents with peace of mind and children the confidence they need to be able to bike to school. Barry adds, it also gives kids a chance to have some fun on their way to school and to get in a bit of exercise, too. She says, “Even just 10 to 15 minutes a day of physical activity, low-impact activities like biking and walking, can go a long way toward improving fitness and it’s really fun.” Communities across the country are encouraged to join together and bicycle to school today.

Learn more about Iowa bicycling events at “bikeiowa.com” or “iowagoesbybicycle.com”.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)