Gov. Reynolds touts OCSD success in Condition of the State

Jan. 10—OSKALOOSA — Gov. Kim Reynolds is touting the Oskaloosa Community School District as one of Iowa's success stories after the district reported that as a result of school choice, it has gained more students than it has lost.

The district's recent success caught the governor's eye and earned Oskaloosa a shoutout during her Condition of the State Address Tuesday night.

"In Oskaloosa, the public school saw a net gain of students this year from private schools. And after hearing about the culture they've created and the great things they're doing, I understand why," Reynolds said.

When the Students First Act was signed into Iowa law last January, championed by Reynolds and touted by Republicans as a way to ensure Iowa students would have access to whatever style of education best suited them, it was a contentious issue. The act established school vouchers, or educational savings accounts, for K-12 students in Iowa. The ESAs, in the amount of $7,598 in government funding annually, follow each Iowa student to whatever school their parents select, be it public or private, to fund their education.

The piece of legislation faced significant pushback, particularly from educators and the Democratic Party, after concerns were raised about accountability, diverting more than $100 million in public funds to private schools in the program's first year, with increasing dollar amounts to come, and the uneven accessibility to private schools throughout the state.

In the face of the uncertainty and controversy surrounding the legislation, the Oskaloosa Community School District didn't blink.

Although he expressed concerns about the act's implications for fiscal accountability, OCSD Superintendent Mike Fisher was largely unfazed by the advent of school choice and told the Herald last January that the district was planning to continue its journey to become the best place possible for students to learn and engage.

"At the end of the day, Oskaloosa Schools is still going to be an exceptional place to learn and live, and we're going to do everything we can. At the end of the day, we want to be a school of choice that people are choosing regardless — that we're the best place to be," he said at the time.

Now a year into the program, Fisher's confident approach to the shifting educational landscape seems to have paid off. Since the implementation of school choice, nine families with 13 students have chosen to leave area private schools and instead attend OCSD. On the flip side, four families with eight children have chosen to leave OCSD in favor of a private education, leaving OCSD with a net increase of five students.

With an emphasis on creating a healthy learning environment and thinking outside the box to offer students and families a variety of educational options, Fisher says OCSD is "embracing the marketplace."

"I've said all along ... I wasn't worried about vouchers, I was just worried about how we can be the best version of ourselves, and we want to just thrive as Oskaloosa Schools," he said. "We embrace the marketplace, and we want to be competitive, and we want to be the school of choice for the right customers that choose us."

Fisher says the school's focus has been on creating a healthy new vision culture emphasizing love, empowerment, inspiration and support for staff and students.

"We focus on student behavior to make sure that we have our students that are not being disruptive, that our students can learn, and it's a healthy, safe environment, which is our value. We're a kind environment," he said.

Fisher also highlights OCSD's sheer variety of ever-expanding options — everything from esports, to bowling, to chess, fine arts, trap shooting, building trades, alternative schooling options, a robust homeschool program, job training and more — as a key to Oskaloosa's success.

"We joke [that] we're the 'school of choice' because we have the most choices, and people are choosing us," Fisher said.

"If we 'don't got it,' we'll find a way to make it for you," he quipped.

According to a statement issued by the district on Wednesday, Oskaloosa's total served enrollment as of Oct. 1, 2023 is 2,027.77 students, a decrease of 9.31 students.

"The district attributes this small drop to a need for more housing in Mahaska County and the daycare desert that exists in the area," the statement reads. "Community leadership is working on housing as an Iowa Finance Authority Thriving Community. Area families could benefit from expanding the statewide voluntary preschool program to fund the full-day versus half-day program."

For OCSD's part, the district's preschool piloted a new all-day four-year-old preschool program this year with overwhelmingly positive reviews. As of December 2023, the program had filled all of its 20 spots and had a 60-person waitlist.

However, Pella Community Schools Superintendent Greg Ebeling says this success is rare. In particular, he's witnessed a drop in students at most of the districts he's interacted with, including Pella.

"When I've talked to other school superintendents that have strong private schools in their boundaries, they've lost students to private because of the vouchers," Ebeling said. "We've lost what we believe to be 45 students to Pella Christian."

Associate Editor Donald Promnitz and former Associate Editor Emily Hawk contributed to this report.

Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.