Price Lab's Fate May Be Out of Their Hands, Legislators Say

Local lawmakers said they weren't sure the Iowa Legislature will be able to intervene, as many community members hope, to keep open.

President Ben Allen has announced his intention to close the Price Lab, a teaching lab for UNI teaching students as well as school for hundreds of children in the area, and the Iowa Board of Regents is expected to vote on whether or not to approve the recommendation at a meeting Monday afternoon.

The widely disseminated understanding in the media, including on Patch, has been that since Price Lab has been defined by the Iowa Legislature as the Research and Development School for Iowa, it would take an act of the Legislature to close the school.

In interviews after a community meeting Sunday evening, Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, and Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, all said they weren't sure if the Legislature would or even could take up the issue directly.

"What I’ve been told is that we don’t have a say in the closing. It’s pretty much in the hands of the Regents," Rogers said. "We do have a legislative say to instruct in the element of research and development and overall education for the state. I think we have some power there to legislate that. But as far as the closing of the school, it's totally in the hands of the Regents. Now, there may be some people who disagree with that, but that’s what I’ve been told legally."

"But as far as the closing of the school, it's totally in the hands of the Regents."

For about two hours, more than 400 community members, many sitting on the floor or standing along the walls of the packed room, took turns asking the lawmakers questions and raising concerns.

American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees union leader Danny Homan had the last comment of the night.

“I can tell you there's only one solution," he said. "Load the buses up, get to Des Moines, start banging on doors. You have to shut down their fax machines. You have to shut down their email. You have to fill up their voicemail.”

His remark was greeted with roaring applause.

The recommendation to close the school, on Feb. 22, must be approved by the Board of Regents, which to discuss the issue. The Regents will meet telephoncially at 1 p.m. Monday. In Cedar Falls, the public can listen to the meeting at 122M Lang Hall on the campus.

"It’s not our duty or role as a legislative body. So the vote they’re going to take tomorrow is their authority," Kressig said. "The dilemma is, I’m not sure what our real role and process would be going forward. It's my understanding the research and development school would still stay at UNI even without the lab school. I need to get more clarity on that."

He said even if Price Lab's closure falls under the legislature's jurisdiction, he's not sure the lawmaking body will act.

"I highly doubt if anything's going to be done in the House to deal with this," he said. "If anything, it would come out of the Senate. The leadership in the Iowa House made the comment that they applauded Ben Allen’s decision to close the school."

Rogers disagreed with that point.

"I don’t know anybody that believes that. They (the House leadership) have come out and said we know Ben Allen and support and respect his decision, but nobody has said we want Price Lab to close. I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on. We care, the House side, the Republican side, as deeply about education as anybody else."

Danielson, who is president pro tempore of the Senate, said the issue of what the legislature can or will do still needs to be resolved.

"There’s still more homework to be done," he said. "Some have just focused on the authorizing language about Price Lab and the research and development school, so there's a paragraph that says, 'There will be a school, it will exist, here’s its mission.' Some have looked at that and said, 'Well, they can’t make that change unless the language is changed.' Others have said, 'No, that’s not necessarily so.' I actually don’t know yet what that conclusion would be."

All three said that despite the ambiguity, however, they will keep looking into the issue.

"I would hope in the next week or two I could answer that question," Danielson said. "I think it's still an open question."

He said no matter what happens with Price Lab, he's focusing on the wider question of increasing funding for education and UNI.

"For me that’s not the mose important aspect of it," he said. "I’m focused on the larger arch of education policy in Iowa and the investment that we make in it. At the end of the day, the legislature I believe is going to have to look at its overall commitment to education, and I am going to find every way I can to make sure UNI is central to that conversation."

Danielson hosted the meeting at the to discuss the recommendation to close Price Lab School as well as other proposed UNI budget cuts.

The university has also recommended closing the , Print Services and making cuts to the athletic budget. Cuts to academic programs will be announced this week.

Besides Danielson, Rogers and Kressig, Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic, D-Waterloo, and Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, attended the event.