The Pella School Board hosted a legislative roundtable this week to directly interact with state representatives and senators about topics of interest in education.

District 79 Representative Dustin Hite, District 28 Representative John Thorup, and District 40 State Senator Ken Rozenboom were all in attendance to hear questions and concerns from the Pella School Board and district administration.

The topics discussed included mask mandates in school and the statehouse decision to ban those, school funding, and concerns over educational savings accounts, or vouchers, for private education with public funds.

Hite was among the legislators who led the ban on mask mandates in Iowa schools, and believes they still made the right decision when it came to passing that legislation.

Hite serves as the House Education Committee Chair and is in his second term representing Pella and Mahaska County.