Sioux City, Iowa — Nine Area Education Agencies cover the state of Iowa and their administrators are hoping lawmakers will help plug a 15-million-dollar budget shortfall to address pressing needs. One area the agencies want to work on, according to Northwest Area Education Agency Chief Administrator Dan Cox, is to help school districts with mental health support.
He says they’d also like to be able to help teachers help special needs students.
Cox says that unlike in other areas of the state, in the Northwest Area, they have not had to cut positions. He says their funding is tied to the enrollment of the schools that they serve, and enrollment as a whole has been rising in their area, so they haven’t had to cut positions. In fact, they’re looking to add a few positions.
Area Education Agencies have served Iowa since 1974.
