ACE, educators refute auditor's statements regarding private schools, parental choice

Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education contributed a letter to the Cedar Rapids Gazette refuting the state auditor's comments regarding Educational Savings Accounts. Diocese of Sioux City Catholic Schools Superintendent ​Patty Lansink was one of the signers ​of the letter.

From Iowa ACE:

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand has been producing a steady supply of misinformation about private schools and the ESA program. Recently he placed an opinion piece in the Cedar Rapids Gazette that disrespects Iowa's private school communities and spreads misinformation about Education Savings Accounts. We at Iowa ACE felt it was time to respond. Below you'll find our opinion piece as printed in the Gazette today, along with a list of supporters from around the state.

The letter below was published by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 10, 2025. (Reprinted with permission.)

State Auditor Rob Sand has been issuing a steady drip of inaccurate and unfounded comments regarding Iowa’s private school community and the Students First Education Savings Account program. It’s time to call out his fearmongering and untruths. We represent the thousands of Iowans - including parents, educators, and community members - who value parental choice in education, support non-public schools, and are fed up with these unwarranted, baseless attacks.

Private schools have successfully educated students for nearly 200 years in Iowa, doing so with a fraction of the funding available to public schools. Private schools are important community partners and nonprofit employers in cities and towns large and small. We are proud of Iowa’s private schools and the students they have served. It is alarming that our State Auditor would disrespect our private school leaders, teachers and parents. 

We would like to take this opportunity to respectfully bring the focus back to the foundational principles of the Educational Savings Account (ESA) program. ESA funds belong to parents, not schools. Every family receiving an ESA must use the funds for educational purposes — tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and other approved educational expenses. These aren’t blank checks handed to private schools; they’re limited-use funds directed by parents under state guidelines. In fact, Iowa’s ESA program contracts with a third-party vendor to process claims, and expenditures are subject to state review to ensure funds are used appropriately. That’s a level of accountability most government programs don’t even match. 

Schools receiving parent-approved ESA funds must be accredited by the State of Iowa or a third-party accreditation agency approved by the state. That is serious accountability. Private schools have another level of accountability - parents. When families choose a private school, they are actively holding those schools accountable with their feet and their wallets. If a school mismanages resources, underperforms, or loses the trust of its families, enrollment drops — and so does funding. That kind of direct, personal accountability is often far more powerful than government oversight. 

Sand fails to question the dozens of Iowa programs that distribute taxpayer money to individuals and private entities, programs that give the State Auditor no control or audit authority over how those funds are spent. And yet, we don’t hear him railing against those programs. When a family shops for groceries with SNAP funds the government doesn’t audit the store. If he doesn’t question other peoples’ choices on how to use government funds, why does he question a parent’s choice to use ESA funds to send their children to an accredited, private school? 

ESAs are designed to give families more control over their children’s education - especially those who can’t otherwise afford private school tuition - and it's working exactly as predicted and intended. Enrollment in non-public schools is rising. ESAs empower parents and ensure funding follows students, not systems. If we truly care about fairness and educational opportunity for all Iowans, then we should stop treating parents' choices as threats and start treating parents as partners. Let's work together and support all educational choices parents make - both private and public. Only then can we be sure that all Iowa children are educated in the setting that best meets their needs. 

Trish Wilger is executive director of the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education and Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education. She is also writing on behalf of Parents for Educational Choice members and Iowa Council for American Private Education members.

Dale Akkerman, Wellsburg 
Donna Bishop, Des Moines 
Josh Bowar, Sioux Center 
Tom Chapman, Urbandale 
Lynne Devaney, Davenport 
Jan Doellinger, Cedar Rapids 
Linda Duffy, Davenport
Rob Edel, Davenport
Joel Groenenboom, Oskaloosa
Steve Kane, Marion
Patty Lansink, Ida Grove
Renae Lesan, Ames
Bill Meyer, Davenport
Paul Miguez, Ankeny
Lydia Quick, Ankeny
Jeff Rains, Des Moines
Nick Ryan, Waukee
Sue Smith, Des Moines
Rob Szalay, Urbandale
Tim Van Solelen, Sioux Center
Cathy Walz, Marion
Trish Wilger, Bettendorf
Dan Zylstra, Pella

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