A decision at the federal level is impacting school districts in the United States, including Iowa, as the leader from the Perry Community School District offers his stance.

On June 30th, the U.S. Department of Education as well as the Office of Management and Budget were demanded by the President Trump Administration to withhold approximately $6.8 billion in federal education funding that would affect educational school programs. 

Perry Superintendent Clark Wicks shares that he received a letter from the federal government about a freeze being put on the title funds. He admits that the notice shocked him especially because he says that Congress has already approved the money to come to all public schools, but now that won’t happen due to the freeze. Wick stresses that it’s a big deal as it takes away $220,000 from Perry. He is going to do everything in his power to fight for public education.

“We have some things to do, we got to talk about it. It affects every student, it affects every staff member and public schools need to be a priority, I feel in society and doing these kinds of things shows that it’s not a priority. We’ve got some work to do to demonstrate the great things that public schools do for all the kids in the community, and right now, we’re in a title freeze fiasco.”

Wicks is hopeful that if school districts in the state of Iowa, along with across the country, can band together to highlight the importance of public education, then it might cause the Trump Administration to reverse its decision.