Bullying prevention office in Iowa has no direct funds

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nearly one year after Gov. Terry Branstad announced the creation of a bullying prevention office, the program has no designated dollars and relies on inconsistent funding for its work.

The Governor's Office for Bullying Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa has received no private grants since launching in September 2015, according to documents provided by the Cedar Falls school. The state also hasn't provided funding, as Branstad decided in January not to allocate money, citing budgetary constraints.

The small office offers some programming, but the lack of clear or consistent funding raises questions about its long-term effectiveness in addressing statewide bullying and harassment.

"It sounds like bullying prevention is not being treated like the priority that it is," said Nate Monson, executive director of Iowa Safe Schools, a statewide nonprofit that supports programing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. "It's a new school year and I'm already receiving phone calls about kids being bullied or afraid to start the school year. Without a functioning office or without functioning guidance from the state, it doesn't work."

Branstad issued an executive order last fall creating the governor's bullying prevention office, a move that followed years of inaction by the Legislature to approve anti-bullying measures. It's difficult to measure if other governors have taken similar action, though universities around the country have dedicated resources to the issue.

Branstad signed the order surrounded by elementary school students in Cedar Rapids. Days later, he told reporters the order was the best move.

"We're going to continue to work with both houses of the Legislature on these issues and respect the separation of powers," he said. "But at the same time, I am the chief executive, and I want to do all I can to set the right tone and to support schoolchildren."

UNI's Center for Violence Prevention, which since 2011 has focused on issues such as domestic and sexual assault, oversees the bullying prevention office. When the office was initially placed under the center's watch, Branstad's office said the center had existing funds to house the anti-bullying program.

Although the center had at least $68,000 available in private grants for the budget year that began in July, a review shows most of the money is earmarked for efforts like mentoring school athletes as it relates to sexual assault prevention and relationship abuse. Other funds are for research.

Alan Heisterkamp, the director and only full-time employee at the violence prevention center and bullying prevention office, said private funds for violence prevention have been used to provide training and legislative lobbying on bullying issues, but it's hard to specify the spending because the topics are similar.

Heisterkamp, whose $97,000 salary is covered by UNI, told The Associated Press last fall that the governor's office contacted the university about creating the bullying office less than two weeks before issuing the executive order. About four months later, Branstad opted not to recommend a $250,000 request from UNI to fund the violence prevention center, which in turn would have supported the bullying prevention office. Heisterkamp plans to ask again.

"There needs to be an investment on the part of the decision makers, the lawmakers in Iowa to say, 'This is an important issue. These are important things for schools and communities to deliver on,'" he said.

Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes, who didn't respond to Heisterkamp's funding concerns, said in a statement that the governor "will carefully evaluate the funding request with how it fits with state revenues" during the normal budgeting process.

Sen. Tony Bisignano, a Des Moines Democrat who worked on past anti-bullying efforts, said he plans to introduce legislation next session as well. He said he was disappointed when Branstad chose not to fund the bullying prevention office.

"It looks like he did something and he did nothing. Now it's off his plate," Bisignano said. "It's just one issue he can take some credit for if he wanted to say he did something, but in reality it's not going to do anything."

Hammes disagreed, saying in a separate statement that "preventing bullying in our schools and creating a safe environment for students will remain the highest priority."

Heisterkamp said his violence prevention center offers training opportunities on bullying prevention through a national program known as Mentors in Violence Prevention or MVP. It focuses on gender violence and has several components on bullying prevention. He said 11 high schools have been implementing the training over the past academic year.

Penny Bisignano, an education consultant who leads bullying prevention training in Iowa, said the MVP program should be offered alongside other training.

"It's easy for bullying prevention to get lost in other work ... it cannot get consumed in other violence efforts," she said.

Heisterkamp said he wants to offer more training over the next school year and state funding would aid that effort.

"There's many stakes that hold up the tent," he said. "The executive order was one of those stakes. Now there needs to be other stakes pounded into the ground if we want to address this issue."

BARBARA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

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Copyright 2016 The Gayly - 8/18/2016 @ 3:28 p.m. CDT