This week in Iowa organizing…

Written By Katie Bryan

Cedar Falls, South Tama, and Urbandale have recently joined the list of school boards across the state calling on lawmakers to fully fund our public schools and phase out private school vouchers.

Kudos to the CCI members and school boards who made this happen!! If we want our schools to get back to the standards we had in the past, they need the proper resources to do so.

CCI member Nick Covington (no relation that we've determined) writes, "state aid for public education has exceeded inflation just four times since 2011, meaning every other year schools don’t have enough money to cover rising costs. This year Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed yet another 2% increase that fails to keep up with inflation."

When public schools are fully funded, they thrive and so do our children. Our local school boards and communities get it. And we'll keep at it to make sure the legislature eventually gets it too.

Read on for more ways to take action for our schools, land and water, and more,

 

Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director

At the Statehouse

We're on the fourth week of the legislative session. The first funnel deadline when bills need to pass out of a committee to stay alive for consideration is Feb. 20. That means the next couple weeks will likely see movement on key bills (outside of spending bills) lawmakers aim to prioritize for the remainder of the session.

And we'll be at the statehouse on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to do another round of citizen lobbying! If you're in the Des Moines area, join other CCI Action members to educate lawmakers and push for action on policies that put people and our communities first. RSVP to join us here!

Snapshot of some key bills we're tracking:

 

The good:

  • SF 2008: would make private schools utilizing vouchers to have the same transparency and reporting requirements as public schools. Introduced by Sen. McClintock (R - Alburnett). Assigned subcommittee, but still no meeting scheduled.

The good turned bad:

The bad:

  • HSB 552: would take local control away from municipalities by prohibiting them from issuing Community IDs to their residents. Passed subcommittee, could be voted on by full House Public Safety committee this week.

  • HF 2042: would study merging the Iowa DNR and Department of Land Stewardship. With DNR understaffed and underfunded, we're concerned how combining these departments would further tilt policy and enforcement in favor of big ag. Introduced, awaiting subcommittee.

A reminder that you can find your lawmakers and their contact info here. 

Take action

Tonight - Feb. 2: Public School Finance 101

Want to get a better understanding of your local school district's budget and how public schools are financed? You are in luck!

David I. Backer, associate professor of education policy at Seton Hall University and author of As Public as Possible: Radical Finance for America's Schools will join us for an online presentation on Feb. 2 at 7:30pm. RSVP to join us here.

“David Backer has accomplished the seemingly impossible here, making the complex issue of school finance not just accessible, but provocative and inspiring.”—Jennifer Berkshire, co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door and The Education Wars

Feb. 10-13: Iowa CCI's week of love and thank-a-thon

We’re turning what’s usually a one-day event into a “Week of Love”, and we would LOVE to have you join us!

Our amazing community comes together every year to call our membership list to connect and spread gratitude for all their hard work and support. We've filled 28 of our 60 phone bank slots - can YOU help us reach our goal? RSVP to make calls with us!

We’ll be phone banking at the CCI office in Des Moines to connect with members and thank them. These calls are super easy and fun to make. If calls aren't your thing, there are other ways to help - click here for more info! 

If you have any questions, email kim@iowacci.org or give us a call at 515-255-0800.

Feb. 12: Clean Water meeting w/ Prof. Rosburg

CCI is hosting a clean water meeting with Drake professor Tom Rosburg on February 12 from 6-7:30PM at the Toledo Public Library. Tom is an Ecology and Botany Professor and long time prairie warrior fighting for Iowa's most vulnerable ecosystems.

Join us to learn more about the state of Iowa's water, how it effects our local ecosystems and our health, and the positive impacts of prairie systems on our water. RSVP to join us here.

Feb. 19: Our water, our health rally & lobby day

During the 2026 legislative session it’s our job to keep the Cancer Gag Act dead and to push for common sense policies – like restoring funding for water quality monitoring and increasing funding to map our aquifers.

On February 19 from 1 - 4pm we'll be joining with our allies at Food & Water Watch and Progress Iowa for a lobby day to tell our legislators it's time to take meaningful action to protect our water and crack down on big ag polluters. RSVP to join us here.

Feb. 24: How taxpayers are propping up the factory farm industry & corporate ag

RSVP here to join us for the Farm & Environment Monthly organizing call on Feb. 24 from 6 - 7:30 PM.  At this meeting we will:

  • Dig in on how our public dollars are being used to prop up the factory farm and industrial ag model.

  • Get updates on what's happened at the statehouse related to the Cancer Gag Act, the CO2 pipeline, water quality, and more.

  • Find ways to take action to protect our water and health.

Mark your calendar for Feb. 24 at 6 PM and RSVP here to get the information to join the call.

We're Hiring!

Iowa CCI is looking to hire a Community Organizer who has a strong desire to meet people where they are at, move them to action, help CCI build our people power, and win on issues.

Learn more and how to apply at iowacci.org/jobs

What We're Reading

These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!

Katie Bryan
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