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He urged them not to have students come back from spring break and potentially spread the virus.
Even when the summer came to a close, Hanft was hesitant at the start of the school year. After all, sending kids back into the unknown was a scary thing.Â
For the most part, what public health found instead in the school districts was inspiring.
âWhen we look at the numbers, the rates of kids getting sick, the rates of school teachers getting sick from exposure, those numbers continue to stay low,â Hanft said. âCOVID-19 spread doesnât happen within the walls of the school nearly as much as we thought.â
Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed Senate File 159 to the Iowa Legislature â a bill that would use taxpayer money to give public school students scholarships or vouchers to be put towards attending private school.
While some lawmakers agree with the premise, many public school superintendents in North Iowa have spoken out against it.
Mason City Superintendent Dave Versteeg, West Hancock Superintendent Wayne Kronemann and Osage and Riceville Superintendent Barb Schwamman all have concerns about the bill â a sentiment they say is shared across many administrators in the state of Iowa.
âPublic dollars are for public things,â Kronemann said. âWhether you use those public things or not. Roads, libraries, whatever it may be. We start funding private things with public dollars, thatâs an issue.â