Iowa Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott is hoping that following the events at Perry High School, the state can offer support to other educators.

A few weeks ago, Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 2653 into law, giving Perry the ability to use up to $700,000 in retention bonuses to help teachers. Trone-Garriott thinks the bill is beneficial to Perry but recognizes that most educators aren’t paid enough. She notes that this legislation is important but points out that the educators need support.

“We need to be thinking about how can we help support and hold onto, and show our appreciation for educators in our state because they’re feeling pretty down right now, and there’s a lot of educators who have those beliefs about safety in the school. We were all affected when Perry happened and I think the whole region, the whole state is trying to recover from that horrific incident.”

Trone-Garriott expresses relief that the bill was signed into law but encourages Governor Reynolds about how other educators in different school districts in Iowa can be supported.