From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
The House Public Safety subcommittee will consider a bill Monday to allow Iowa school districts to arm trained staff. It would require all Iowa school districts with an enrollment of more than 8,000 students to staff at least one officer at each high school. The bill would also force the department of education to develop and distribute an annual grant program to help cover staffing costs for schools.
Iowa students going to any of the state’s three public universities would be guaranteed to have the same tuition for all four years, under a new plan House Democrats released Wednesday. Democrats say it could help limit future student loan debt. Iowans with student loan debt owe an average of nearly $31,000 dollars. Democrats don’t hold a majority in either House of the Iowa Legislature, and they did not how much the program will cost.
The percentage of Iowa students taking college classes while still in high school has increased. That was part of a report on the status of community colleges presented to the Board of Regents. Right now, there are about 53,000 high school students dual enrolling–about a six percent increase from last year. The percentage of students taking credits who are minorities is also at an all-time high at almost 25 percent.
A bill that would let city councils manage library funding and the hiring of a library director passed out of an Iowa House subcommittee Thursday. Under current law, a city council can make changes to libraries’ policies and staffing if approved by voters. Dozens of library directors and city council members from across the state spoke in opposition to the bill at yesterday’s hearing. A similar bill in the Senate would allow cities and counties to withdraw funding from libraries.
The Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission voted to make the building housing Pagliai’s Pizza an official historic landmark. It was built almost 150 years ago and has been owned by the same family since then. Landmark status makes it eligible for the city’s historic preservation fund to help with repair work. The decision now goes before the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission before heading to the City Council.
