The Problem with Governors

Rob Sand is running for Iowa governor, after being the only Democrat holding statewide office since 2022. Sand currently holds the position of state auditor.

I’ll probably vote for Mr. Sand, but his ideas on how to improve learning for the children of Iowa could benefit from some informed advice.

This past Saturday, Sand addressed the Iowa State Education Association’s 2026 Delegate Assembly on his thoughts about how to improve teaching and learning across Iowa’s K-12 districts. Here are a few of Sand’s comments, as reported by the Des Moines Register:

“State government hasn’t been listening for a long time. They have got pre-conceived notions, using phrases like ‘sinister teachers.’ How did we, in Iowa, get to that point?”

“I’m sick and tired of a state Capitol building that completely ignores the passion of the people in this room to serve the children of Iowa. The future leaders of the state of Iowa are future doctors, our future lawyers, our future teachers, everybody. I’m so tired of it.”

“We need balance in the state of Iowa, and we need state government where the people who are actually in the classrooms with our kids are listened to or heard and are respected. The work you do is so important to the future of the state of Iowa.”

Union talk notwithstanding, Sand’s campaign website offers little else about how he will lead K-12 education as governor, except a comment on the importance of universal all day pre-K, and the need to use money currently associated with school choice vouchers to pay for it:

“New investments and initiatives, like universal all day pre-K are needed to give our students the edge they need to compete for good paying jobs. Iowa’s private school voucher program takes resources away from public schools, and has no accountability for how that money is being spent. We can pay for universal pre-K by no longer sending our taxpayer dollars to Iowa’s wealthiest families to pay for the private school tuition they were going to pay on their own anyway.”

When it comes to specific educational plans, Sand is not unlike others interested in holding gubernatorial positions. Democrats usually talk about improved compensation and status for classroom teachers, increased funding for K-12 schools, and an end to education savings accounts, i.e. vouchers.

Republicans promote school choice, parental rights, and financial accountability when it comes to our public K-12 system.

Most of the candidates for governor, no matter their political party, don’t offer nearly enough detail about how they are going to improve learning for their state’s children.

Here are a few pieces of advice for those wanting to become the state’s chief executive:

First, provide a vision for what teaching and learning can look like inside your state’s K-12 system.

Second, provide alternatives to those families stuck in sucky schools. It’s immoral and unethical to keep generations of kids in bad schools.

Third, identify and hire the top reading experts available. Everything starts with kids being able to learn to read and then read to learn. Don’t underestimate reading – ever.

Fourth, pay attention to data and make decisions according to what the data is telling you.

Fifth, show interest in different models of learning – including homeschooling, learning pods, and microschools. Charter schools and educational savings accounts will only get you so far.

And most important, even though you will have people within your government that will handle the day-to-day tasks of building a top-notch learning system for your kids, make sure you are keeping an eye on #1-5 above. In the end, along with a myriad of other responsibilities, you are responsible for taking care of your youngest citizens – your state’s K-12 students.

Til tomorrow. SVB