–Education and Property Taxes were the two main topics of discussion during the legislative forum held Saturday at the Algona Public Library Representative John Wills and Senator Dave Rowley were on hand to answer questions from those in attendance. Wills defended a bill he worked on in the house that would allow individuals who want to become teachers to become certified without being a student-teacher first.
Wills discussed how the state’s budget will look when the recently passed Educational Savings Account program expands in three years to allow all parents of private school students to receive state money to cover educational expenses.
Wills says he is also working on a bill with regards to property tax reform.
Local officials asked how they are expected to fulfill budgets as expenses increase and property tax cuts bring a drop in revenues. Representative Henry Stone, who represents most of Kossuth County, including the city of Algona, was unable to attend.
