Teachers in Iowa district that had school shooting can get retention bonus next year under new bill

By HANNAH FINGERHUT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Teachers and staff in the rural Iowa district where a deadly school shooting took place earlier this year could get bonuses if they don’t quit their jobs under a new bill approved by lawmakers and sent to the governor. The Jan. 4 attack at the high school in Perry, Iowa, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, killed a sixth grader, fatally injured the high school’s principal and injured six others. The bill allows the school district in Perry, Iowa, to spend $700,000 of local tax dollars on bonuses for employees during the upcoming school year. Rep. Carter Nordman says Perry and Iowa’s school board association approached lawmakers about the challenge with staff retention that had faced other schools coping with similar tragedies.