Nearly 350 workers leave Iowa AEAs as Kim Reynolds pushed to overhaul education agencies

Ann Thomas sat down to have dinner with her kids in January, her iPhone on the table streaming Gov. Kim Reynolds' annual Condition of the State address to Iowa lawmakers.

Very quickly, Reynolds unveiled her top legislative proposal for the year: an overhaul of Iowa's Area Education Agencies that would shift funding to school districts, allowing them to contract with private providers, rather than the AEAs.

"I looked up at my kids, and I said I just lost my job," Thomas said. "And they were like no, no, you didn’t. And I’m like yeah, I did. I mean I knew right away that that’s how it was going to go down."

Thomas works as media and library services consultant at the Central Rivers AEA in north central Iowa, where she provides professional development to school staff and helps districts understand how to responsibly use artificial intelligence resources in their classes.

At least she does until July 1. That will be her last day on the job.

Pointing to the uncertainty created by House File 2612, the newly signed law retooling AEAs, Thomas has decided to leave Central Rivers to take a position as a corporate trainer at a large company. She said the agency didn't feel like a stable place to work anymore.

She's one of nearly 350 employees who have retired or resigned from Iowa's nine AEAs since the start of the year, as Iowa lawmakers debated, negotiated and passed the law, which makes significant changes to the agencies' funding structure and responsibilities. AEAs are currently Iowa's sole provider of special education services, as well as providing media services and general education services.

More: Kim Reynolds signs AEA overhaul, teacher pay raise into law. Here's how it will work:

Thomas said she and her fellow AEA employees around the state have felt the stress.

"It’s been a really hard, hard winter and spring mentally for my colleagues — myself and my colleagues," she said. "It’s been mentally very taxing to have that uncertainty as far as your career goes and the financial stability, not knowing where that’s going to land you."

The Des Moines Register requested data from all nine Iowa AEAs on the number of employees who have voluntarily left their jobs since Jan. 1, either through retirement or resignation. The agencies reported 341 full-time employees have departed since then.

The number of departing employees could rise further as the AEAs finalize employment contracts for the coming year and make decisions about what services they can continue offering school districts as some of their funding is diverted to schools.

The Register has reported that the AEAs employ more than 3,400 full-time and part-time staff, according to a summary of personnel compiled by the agencies.

Reynolds said the changes in the law will provide more transparency and accountability for taxpayer dollars, giving school districts more control over money that now goes to the AEAs and letting the districts choose whether to continue spending it on those services or use it for other needs.

"All of this will work its way through the system. And it’s OK," she said. "School districts need teachers. AEAs need people to provide the services. But it’s going to be rightsized, as it probably should. It was probably top heavy, and this will work some of that out."

AEAs seeing high staff turnover, departures; some cite new law as reason for leaving

Seven of Iowa's nine AEAs say they already expect higher staff turnover in the 2023-24 school year compared with the previous year — even though the current year isn't over yet.

Five of the AEAs — Central Rivers, Great Prairie, Heartland, Mississippi Bend and Prairie Lakes — say their 2023-24 turnover rate is the highest in the last five years.

The 341 employees who are voluntarily leaving the AEAs include:

• Central Rivers AEA: 68 employees.

• Green Hills AEA: 30.

• Great Prairie AEA: 32.

• Grant Wood AEA: 50.

• Heartland AEA: 70.

• Keystone AEA: 19.

• Mississippi Bend AEA: 31.

• Northwest AEA: 15.

• Prairie Lakes AEA: 26.

Nathan Wood, chief administrator of Great Prairie AEA, said a recent staff survey found 62% of the AEA's employees said they had searched for a different job in the last month because of the prospect of AEA legislation.

"This is a reality check that recent legislation has and will continue to impact the AEA system's ability to retain staff and provide effective, efficient and economical services to the districts in southeast Iowa," Wood said in a statement. "GPAEA is committed to providing services and supports that our districts need in the new model created under the new legislation, but it is reality that we will have to reduce the number of staff we employ over the next few years."

At Northwest AEA, chief administrator Dan Cox said five staff members said they were retiring earlier than they had planned because of the legislation, and four of those who resigned said it was because of the potential effect of the law.

Those voluntary departures do not include layoffs resulting from the new law, which so far number 37 full-time workers and one part-time employee, according to data provided by the AEAs.

About half of those layoffs are because of the state's decision to end the AEAs' contract to run the Family and Educator Partnership program. The state has hired the ASK Resource Center, a Johnston-based nonprofit, to fulfill the contract for the next five years.

More: Iowa hires nonprofit to help families navigate disability services, replacing AEA-run program

Those AEA employees served as liaisons between families of students with disabilities and school districts and AEAs, helping families to understand the services available to their student and their rights under state and federal disability laws.

AEA chiefs say they're leaving staff positions open amid budget uncertainty

AEAs are taking a more cautious approach to replacing their departing staff because of the funding uncertainty created by the new law.

John Speer, chief administrator of Grant Wood AEA and the interim chief administrator of the nearby Mississippi Bend AEA, said both AEAs have seen more resignations than they would in a typical year. And both have open positions that they are not hiring for as they wait to see "where the dust settles."

"Both agencies will not have 100% of their staff numbers that we had last year," Speer said. "There will be some open positions. At this point I can’t tell you the extent of that or the scope right now."

Some of the uncertainty stems from AEAs not knowing how much money they will receive from school districts in the coming years to provide media and general education services.

The new law transfers control of that money — about $68 million — to school districts, which no longer have to use the money for similar services.

The law gives schools control over 10% of special education funding, while keeping 90% of that money with the AEAs.

More: Kim Reynolds says she's 'absolutely not' open to redoing Iowa AEA law to amend $68M windfall

"Depending on the level of funding that each individual AEA receives back from their districts, services I think will be a little uneven around the state from AEA to AEA," Speer said. "And that’s unfortunate because the system has always prided itself on the equity of its services."

Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of Heartland AEA, called it a "chicken or the egg situation," where districts need to know what services the AEAs will provide before they decide to sign a new contract, and the AEAs need an idea of how much money will be coming in from school districts.

"For people who have already left, I think we are definitely taking a — I’m going to say strategic look at which positions to fill — because it is so unknown for us and it’s so unknown for schools," Yelick said.

Yelick said the staff who are staying at the AEAs are passionate about their work.

"We’re trying to reassure families that we are going to remain focused on meeting the needs of kids and schools. That’s our top priority," she said. "And as the puzzle pieces become clearer, we’re going to make decisions that best support our work with families and kids."

Thomas, the Central Rivers media consultant, said she doesn't expect the AEA to hire a replacement when she leaves.

"I mean there’s several reasons why," she said. "One, the agency’s future is uncertain. The funding is absolutely uncertain. And then who’s going to apply with that type of uncertainty in the future? Would you apply for a job that may only last a year?"

AEA changes feel like 'loss of a home base,' departing employee says

Green Hills AEA in southwest Iowa is seeing some of the deepest impacts, with nearly one-fifth of its staff turning over this year.

April Balm is one of the employees who will be leaving this summer. Balm works for the AEA as a teacher in the juvenile detention center in Council Bluffs.

But next fall she's taking a job as a special education teacher at a high school in Nebraska.

Balm said she was surprised to see such major changes to the AEAs pass so quickly, especially after AEA employees, as well as parents, teachers and other education advocates, protested the legislation and blanketed lawmakers with messages supporting the AEAs.

"It’s kind of like the loss of a home base is how a lot of us are feeling right now," she said. "And I know I’m not the only one that’s leaving. And it really is because of the upheaval. And it was so unexpected that this would happen. It kind of blindsided everybody."

Jason Plourde, the chief administrator of Green Hills AEA, said the agency normally sees 10% to 12% turnover in a given year.

"This year we’re facing almost 20% turnover," he said. "Certainly, that is as a result of some of the recent legislation."

Plourde said employees are leaving for a variety of reasons. Some are concerned with Iowa's education system and are leaving the state. Others are retiring early. Some are going to work in Iowa schools, and some are leaving education altogether.

Green Hills is anticipating a $3 million budget cut, which Plourde said will result in cutting 19 positions. Some of those employees who are losing their jobs will be able to fill one of the agency's open positions, he said.

Plourde said one of Green Hills' core values is "leading through service."

"And that’s what we’re doing in the midst of all these challenges is our staff continue to show up every day, offering these high quality services and just continuing to make a difference," he said.

'They're literally a business.' Kim Reynolds says layoffs are a reality for employers, including AEAs

Reynolds said high turnover isn't unique to the AEAs. She told reporters school districts for years have had employees leave to take jobs with the AEAs because they couldn't compete with what the agencies could pay.

And she said she gets notices from businesses every week that have to lay off employees "because they need to meet a budget because things have changed, the environment is different."

"That’s a reality of a business. And it has to be a reality of what they’re doing," she said of the AEAs. "They’re literally a business. They are a provider of education, media and special education services."

Democrats have taken issue with Reynolds' comments.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters that "kids are not products," and they need unique services.

"Stop comparing kids to business," she said. "Stop comparing the AEAs, who provide critical services to Iowa kids, to a business and talk about rightsizing. It’s offensive to the people who do this work. We’re not talking about widgets here. We’re talking about kids."

Balm said she doesn't know who may step up to offer the services that the AEAs currently provide. She thinks it will take a long time to build up trust with those providers,

"I’m all for competition, typically, you know," she said. "But when it comes to education and kids and families, there’s just a lot to it, and a lot of trust that goes into putting your kids in public school."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 341 Iowa AEA employees are leaving as new law creates uncertainty