Jonathan Narcisse has a vision for Iowa, and he is taking it across the state to all 99 counties.

Narcisse, an outspoken Des Moines school board member and a community activist, outlined a 10-point plan to making a better Iowa in a Tuesday interview with the Times-Republican. The plan coined "An Iowa Worth Fighting For" includes initiatives in education, economic development, taxes, immigration reform and health.

Narcisse made some bold predictions, especially concerning one of the state's most powerful teacher's union, the Iowa State Education Association.

"We will pick up the ISEA and we will break them over our knees," he said. "They long ago abandoned a commitment to children, and to teachers and academic quality."

Jean Hessburg, ISEA spokesperson, declined to comment on Narcisse's statement.

Narcisse said the ISEA has long been acting as a bully, but he has stood up to the organization many times. He said the ISEA declared him the single greatest threat to public education - something he considered an honor.

"I've never been afraid of them," Narcisse said. "They've always been afraid of me. And now we're educating the state about what they are really about."

Narcisse favors abandoning the No Child Left Behind model and increasing teacher pay to at least $80,000 by cutting wasteful spending in school districts.

The Des Moines school board member also took a stance on educating children of illegal immigrants who were not born in the United States.

Narcisse said he would be willing to tell a child as young as 7 that they weren't allowed to go to school unless they were documented U.S. citizens.

"We are destroying the academic potential and hopes and dreams of our children in the name of compassion," Narcisse said. "It is not compassionate to sacrifice a generation of children who are legally here, whose parents have paid taxes in the name of our compassion."

Narcisse said he also favors a downsizing and reprioritizing of state government, including eliminating a number of state agencies that he believes duplicate each other's services.

"State government is simply a massive bureaucracy whose size interferes," he said.

To accomplish what he wants, Narcisse said he is engaging in grassroots advocacy, which means ignoring, for the time being, legislators and the rest of those in power.

"Presidents come here and grovel at our feet," he said. "There's no question we [Iowans] influence politics in a powerful way."

Narcisse has been rumored as a possible candidate for Iowa governor in the upcoming election, slated for November 2010. He declined to comment on the possibility.

For more information about Narcisse visit www.aniowaworthfightingfor.com.

---

Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com