The recently-finished session of the Iowa Legislature was a “missed opportunity” to upgrade education in Iowa, said Senate Minority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, in a teleconference Friday morning.

Gronstal, along with his counterpart in the House, Rep. David Schrader, D-Monroe, held the conference as an opportunity for reporters from across Iowa to ask questions about the 77th General Assembly, which adjourned April 22.

Taking part in the 30-minute session Friday were writers from the Fairfield Ledger, the Spencer Daily Reporter, the Daily Iowan (Iowa City) and the Iowa State Daily.

“We’re giving a failing grade to Republicans for their half-hearted efforts to improve Iowa schools,” Gronstal said, criticizing the GOP for shooting down Democratic initiatives and offering few alternative solutions.

Proposals to reduce class size, make higher education more affordable, toughen discipline and renovate crumbling schools all were defeated by the Republican majority in 1998.

“The Legislature did not get the job done in 1998 on this critical issue,” Gronstal said.

Schrader accused Republicans of “tinkering around the edges,” saying their “so-called education reform bill” is so weak that even Gov. Terry Branstad has joined the Democrats in opposing it.

The $24 million bill passed the Senate on April 18, despite veto threats from Branstad. Now, with the legislation on the governor’s desk, Schrader described a veto as “likely.”

Another possible outcome of this debate could be a special session. Branstad has said the bill is “incomplete” and needs a provision to provide an additional $3.7 million in merit pay for Iowa teachers.

The day before the bill’s passage, Branstad hinted that he would call legislators back to complete it if his suggestions were not met, something both Gronstal and Schrader favor.

“We encourage the governor to call a special session,” Gronstal said.

Added Schrader, “This session has come up so short on that count that we’re very likely to be back, revisiting that issue.”

Another area where the Legislature’s education effort failed, according to Gronstal and Schrader, was financial support for Iowa’s universities, colleges and community colleges.

“This was the worst year in my 16 years in terms of resources devoted to higher education,” Gronstal said. “Tuition will go up this fall, and that is going to make education less available for middle-class families in Iowa.”

Schrader said Iowa’s public institutions are “doing a great job” of teaching their students.

“Our focus needs to be on getting more kids there,” he said. “The people that leave high school and go into the job market are short-changing themselves.”

One accomplishment of the Legislature Gronstal cited was the Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa Act, or HAWK-I. This bill will provide more than 50,000 previously uninsured Iowa children with health insurance.

“It was done in a broad, bipartisan way,” he said. HAWK-I will eventually cost the state $11 million per year, but it also enables Iowa to get $33 million in federal matching funds for kids’ health care.