The Knoxville School Board set their legislative priorities for the upcoming school year at their meeting Monday night.

The school board belongs to both the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) and Rural Schools of Iowa, and at the end of July these organizations ask all school boards to take a look at potential priorities so they can get their platforms ready to go for the upcoming legislative session. The priorities the Knoxville School Board chose were adequate funding, support staff recruitment and retention, public funds for public schools, support for AEA services, support for mental health services, and support for infrastructure improvements.. Superintendent Cassi Pearson said it’s important for the district to get support at the state level regarding their staff along with all of the other priorities that were set Monday. 

“We know across the board there are staffing shortages so making sure we are able to retain and recruit all staff whether that’s teachers or classified staff that’s a struggle so we need legislative support to make sure that can be strengthened.”

The 2025 Iowa legislative session begins on January 13th.