Local legislators held a virtual forum Thursday afternoon. State Senator Amy Sinclair, the Chair of the Senate’s education committee, was present. She spoke on the bill that recently passed the senate, which allows taxpayer money to be used for private school tuition.

“We had questions about who I talked to, or did I talk to any superintendents about it. The answer to that is ‘Yeah, I’ve talked to a lot of people.’ I have long been an advocate of parental choice in education, for parents to be the ones who are directing the destiny of the kids they are ultimately responsible for. I’ve never hidden that. This is my ninth year I’ve been in the Iowa Senate, and I’ve never said that I didn’t support parents being the ultimate arbiters of how their kids are educated. I’ve spent the last eight years surrounding what that looks like. Have I had any superintendents tell me they support this? No, but let’s be honest, they do have a vested interest in preserving the system in which they work. There are other folks I’ve talked to, and you set aside folks who have a vested interest in the system, people I talk to are essentially split on whether or not we should have a state education program that allows the parents to choose the destiny of their children.”

Sinclair represents most of Marion County, excluding Lake Prairie Township. Additional forums will be held in March and April.