As the 91st legislative session convenes, one question we are often asked is how parents in Ankeny can support the school district. The Ankeny Board of Education has identified four main priorities that significantly impact the Ankeny Community School District’s resources for the 2025 Legislative Session. Understanding and advocating for these priorities can make a substantial difference in ensuring a robust educational environment for our children.

1. Adequate And Timely State Supplemental Aid: Ensuring adequate and timely Supplemental State Aid (SSA) is essential for addressing inequities in education funding. Stable SSA percentages that keep pace with inflation are crucial for Ankeny. Over the past 10 years, SSA has averaged 2.04%.  During that same time, increases to the Ankeny Community School District’s largest employee group consisting of teachers, nurses, social workers, and instructional coaches, averaged 3.29%.
2. Teacher Recruitment and Licensure: Having access to a diverse pool of high-caliber teaching candidates is essential for Ankeny Community School District’s success.  If we wish to expand the course offerings we make available to all students – particularly with the launch of programming at the innovative hub – without sacrificing teacher quality, we will need to tap into an increasing array of talent pipelines.  Increased flexibility and/or prioritized funding for innovative approaches to licensure would enable the district to geographically expand recruitment efforts, develop additional partnerships with diverse talent pools across the country, and deepen partnerships with local business partners who are well-suited to provide students with real-world career readiness learning.
3. Literacy Content Support: The ability to read is a fundamental component of success in school and life. Research shows reading successfully by the end of third grade is a significant predictor of school success. To improve student outcomes, it is essential that ACSD focuses on ensuring all students are prepared for academic success. The first step is the adoption and implementation of a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Ankeny recently underwent a literacy curriculum review and will be implementing the updated curriculum in grades K-8 beginning this year. Specialized professional development, assessment screening and diagnostic materials, decodable readers, and ongoing coaching are essential to achieving our district reading goals.  

We hope providing this information to our community will assist you in participating in informed conversations with our legislators. Ultimately, strong education legislation will further our goal of equipping every learner with the skills to flourish in and contribute to an ever-changing world.

Contact Your Legislators
You can call, write, or email your elected officials regarding the legislative priorities. Ankeny legislators can be reached in the following ways:

State Senator Mike Bousselot
(515) 281-3371
Email: mike.bousselot@legis.iowa.gov

State Representative Eddie Andrews
(515) 281-3221
Email: eddie.andrews@legis.iowa.gov

State Representative Molly Buck
(515) 281-3221
Email: molly.buck@legis.iowa.gov

State Representative Bill Gustoff
(515) 281-3221
Email: bill.gustoff@legis.iowa.gov

State Representative Heather Matson
(515) 281-3221
Email: heather.matson@legis.iowa.gov

We appreciate the work our legislators do on behalf of our students. They are our greatest advocates at the statehouse this upcoming legislative session.