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Davenport high school students travel to capitol, meet with district lawmakers

On their day off from school for President’s Day, Davenport high school students took a class field trip to the state capitol to meet with state lawmakers...

On their day off from school for President's Day, Davenport high school students took a class field trip to the state capitol to meet with state lawmakers and lobbyists and discuss issues they want addressed.

It was the annual "Get on the Bus" field trip to Des Moines, where teachers, students, and school board members give the students the chance to meet their local legislatures.

"The fact that they can actually question their local politicians and the governor of the state of Iowa, it's a great opportunity," said Jeff Manders, a business teacher at Davenport North High School.

While eating box lunches in one of the senate rooms, several legislatures spoke to the group, including Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.

One of the questions that was on all the students minds was about the $3.5 million budget cuts the Davenport School District faces for 2015-2016.

"They're always talking about how drop out rates are going downhill and education is a really big thing, but then the government is taking this program away, and this program away, and they're cutting our budget," said Davenport North Freshman, Tia McLeMore.

"This is real. The students in there are the ones who either benefit or [don't] benefit from what we do here at the state house, so it's really important we get it right," said Phyllis Thede, State Representative from District 93. "I want them to understand that education is important, they're our future. Without them, Iowa's economy will begin to fall. So it's important that we fund this correctly."

After eating lunch with legislatures, students watched legislatures in session from the observation gallery and also toured the Capitol Building.

This was the ninth "Get on the Bus" trip for Davenport schools. Most of the students on the trip were either in AP government classes or showed a strong interest in politics.

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