Instead of having children sit in rooms too cramped for effective teaching, Governor Tom Vilsack signed a bill into a law that will advance education for Iowa’s children.

According to the governor’s web site (www.state.ia.us/government/governor/index.htm), the bill commits up to $100 million over a four-year period to reducing class sizes and helping Iowa’s kids master reading and basic skills.

The bill will allocate $10 million in the first year, $20 million in the second year, $30 million in the third year and a minimum of $30 million in the fourth year.

The legislation will also provide $30 million per year in a two-year extension of the local school technology fund that was set to expire in two years, providing a statewide education package of $150 million.

The bill simply makes sense. Smaller classes equal more opportunity for teachers to have close contact with their students.

For a teacher who currently has 30-35 students, teaching effectively is hard because they get little or no one-on-one time. This damages the effectiveness of the teacher.

Lowering the class size to near 20 will greatly improve the impact the teacher can have on each student and the education each child receives.

Our children deserve the best education possible. If our teachers get the opportunity to be the best they possibly can, then the education of the students will drastically improve.

Iowa already has some of the best schools in the country, but we should never stop improving them.

Education is a hot political issue nowadays, but it seems all too frequently to be nothing but a broken promise. But in Iowa, it is different.

Iowa has been a pioneer in the field of education.

For many years, Iowa was ranked as the best education state in the country, but the state has started to lag behind.

Iowa only ranks in the top three now, and it is time that our elected officials start a resurgence in education priorities and return the state to the best in the country.

The bill makes sense.

Iowa is a leader in education, and we should be doing all that we can to advance the education of our children.

With better schools we can build a better and stronger state.

A state that is based on education is one that will continue to grow and remain prosperous.