Last March, The Black and White issued a story on Senate Bill 3080. The Johnston School Board publicly declared they did not support the bill in a 4-3 vote. Major topics discussed in this bill include language to increase parent oversight in education materials and scholarships (vouchers) that would allocate public school funding to private schools. In late March, the Senate passed a similar education bill titled (SF 2369). Johnston/JCSD Senators Brad Zaun and Jake Chapman voted in favor of the bill while Janet Petersen voted nay. The House passed its own bill (HF 2577) for increased transparency in education. This bill was supported by Johnston/JCSD Representatives Eddie Andrews and Carter Nordman, Marti Anderson and John Forbes voted nay. Following the passing of SF 2369, Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds was unable to gain enough votes in the House to pass the school voucher bill. Reynolds has stated that she will advocate for this bill in the upcoming legislative session. Reynolds is running for reelection this year and is opposed by Democratic candidate Deidre DeJear.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 was national voter registration day, in the state of Iowa individuals who turn 18 on or before election day Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 are eligible to vote. Information on online voter registration can be found here. https://mymvd.iowadot.gov/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2fVoterRegistration