Prom
The History of
Page A7 by Sarah Smith
The
LittleHawk
Iowa City High School • Iowa City, Iowa • Vol. 72 Issue 5 • Thursday, April 30, 2015 • www.thelittlehawk.com i
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Democrats and Republicans Battle Over Education Funding By Lindsey Parrott & Olivia Parrott
ABOVE: Rand Paul supporters gather in the second floor ballroom of the IMU. BOTTOM LEFT: Hillary Clinton speaks with Kirkwood Community College President Mick Starcevich in Monticello, Iowa on April 14. BOTTOM RIGHT: Rand Paul addresses the crowd at the Stand For Rand rally on April 10. PHOTOS BY ELISE GOODVIN
Presidential Pile-Up Candidates of both parties battle for the next presidential bid, and flock to Iowa to win over the influential swing state.
By Lucy McGehee Numerous national headlines have included Iowa recently, as possible presidential candidates swarm to small farming towns to boast their beliefs and publicize their campaign. Out of the fourteen presidential hopefuls that have visited Iowa so far, Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky -R) made a stop in Iowa City on April 10. “We believe that young voters are a growing force in American politics, and it is our goal to make them a central part of our caucus coalition,” Steve Grubbs, Advisor for Senator Paul’s Political Action Committee, said, via email. From 1964 until the present, Johnson County has consistently voted for democratic presidential candidates, so holding a rally in the primarily liberal college town of Iowa City can
be considered a risk for a Republican campaigning. However, there can be benefits because of the ample amount of youth, and the opportunity to push beliefs that students may relate to. “Senator Paul has tremendous appeal among young voters due to his stance against putting ‘boots on the ground’ in the Middle East, as well as his push for criminal justice reform. It could be risky [coming to Iowa City], but we believe that even
students who may not agree with Senator Paul appreciate his stance protecting our phone records from NSA searches,” Grubbs said. “He also is for devolving government from Washington to the states so average people can make a difference.” The recurring issue for many college students and one uncertainty for future college goers, such as Cyan Vanderhoef ‘17, is the looming accumulation of college debt.
“I FEEL LIKE WE’RE KIND OF IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THE ONLY SPOTLIGHT THAT IOWA USUALLY GETS IS FROM ELECTIONS.”
-CYAN VANDERHOEF ‘17
“To attract more youth votes, [candidates should] make college cost less, so we’re not in so much debt when we hit adulthood,” Vanderhoef said. Vanderhoef has also noticed that Iowa gets much more attention nationally from media and potential candidates during the start of elections. “I feel like we’re kind of in the spotlight. The only spotlight that Iowa usually gets is from elections,” she said. “It’s hard to [go everywhere in Iowa] because candidates have a budget and there’s only so many stops that can be made. When they go to smaller towns, it’s great for smalltown people. There’s not just big city people, there’s also smalltown people who make a large difference.” continued on A5
One hundred million dollars. That’s the three percent difference between the Republican and Democratic proposals in the Iowa Legislature for a budget increase in K-12 funding. Republicans have proposed a 1.25 percent increase in 2016, with a 2.45 percent increase the following year. Democrats have proposed a four percent increase for the next two years. “We don’t have oceans and we don’t have mountains and we don’t have big major cities or professional sports, but the state of Iowa has always prided itself on the state motto ‘A place to grow’,” Principal Bacon said. “This means a place to grow families, to grow up. Priding ourselves on public education is critical,” he said. “I want to see the state of Iowa leading the way.” Iowa has slipped to 35 in the nation in public education funding per student, and is currently $1,612 below the national average. “That’s an embarrassment,” Bacon said. The average amount of money spent on school funding between the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota is within 0.4 percent of the national average. “We should be able to fund at similar levels as our neighbors,” President of the School Board, Chris Lynch, said. Both City and West were each asked to cut 6.5 FTE (employee fulltime equivalency) teaching positions. However, City grew by nearly 100 students, and continues to grow. This year the school will graduate 333 seniors, but will welcome an incoming freshman class of approximately 440 students this fall. This results in a 110-student increase to the building. The Republican proposal of 1.25 percent and 2.45 percent budget increases for 2016-2017 would not meet the needs of a growing high school. “City High is in a position where we desperately need to grow our staffing next year,” Bacon said. “After taking a big cut last year and continuing to grow, I feel that w e must be able to add sections back of the courses we offer in order to have acceptable class sizes next year.” Murley believes the main concern of parents are large class sizes for their children. “The feedback we have received is mostly based on this concern,” he said. Freshman Rachel Strang experiences the result of a rolled-back budget on a daily basis. “I think that large class sizes affect my quality of learning,” she said.“I feel like I can’t ask questions because there are so many people in the class.” continued on A3