Fund Public Schools - Sept. 2, 2022

DEIDRE DEJEAR: I’m a product of public schools. You see a couple of my staff around here saying fund public schools, and when I say “fund public schools,” that’s K-12, but that’s also our community colleges and our regents.

We know that we need to fill 88,000 jobs in the state today, and some of those jobs are in education.

That vision is not exclusive of all of the other visions that exist in the state. I don’t know everything. I don’t have all of the lived experiences and the professional experiences, but I know people who do.

My public school journey was not easy. I’m not originally from Iowa, I’m originally from Mississippi, and I went to high school and middle school in Oklahoma - Tulsa, Oklahoma. And even though I hopped schools traveling with my family, my school was always like my refuge.

Make sure you have the path, and you clearly know what the next steps are. So that’s a part of my vision.