Taylor Wettach, the Democrat who’s running to be Iowa’s next state auditor, says there should be more transparency about private school budgets now that the state is projected to spend 330 MILLION dollars a year to cover tuition and other expenses for K-through-12 students in private schools.
For this school year, over eight-thousand dollars of state money will be deposited in an Education Savings Account set up by the parent of a private school student. Wettach is joining those who say private school budgets should be more transparent to the public since the accounts require tuition to be paid first — and the average tuition for private schools in Iowa is around nine-thousand dollars.
State Auditor Rob Sand, the Democrat who is running for governor, has had an ongoing dispute with Governor Reynolds and her staff over access to data about the state’s Education Savings Account program. Reynolds says Sand has been seeking information that’s beyond the scope of his authority as state auditor. Wettach suggests that should set off alarms.
Wettach made his comments during an appearance on The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the State Fair. The Republican running for state auditor is Chris Cournoyer, who’s currently Iowa’s lieutenant governor. She made appearances on the fairgrounds but did not give a speech during the fair.
