SIOUX CITY - Looking to the future, Iowa State Education Association president Chris Bern said Monday he fears teacher layoffs may be on the horizon as school districts struggle with limited resources after Gov. Chet Culver ordered an immediate 10 percent across-the-board cut in state spending for the remainder of the fiscal 2010 budget period.

Bern spoke with the Journal about challenges facing education in Iowa and what he believes should be done as districts begin coping with reduced state funding.

Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Question: Do you have any recommendations for the state?

Answer: Education is taking a big cut. I wish I had a solution. ... We've been advocating for sitting down and having everyone (the Iowa Legislature, Gov Chet Culver's office, Iowa State Teachers Association and school administrators) at the table to talk about possible solutions and coming up with a sustainable education funding stream. ... It looks like talks are going to happen. We all realize the economy is not going to correct itself soon. It's going to take all of us working together to weather this storm.

Q: Do you think improvements need to be made to the quality of education in Iowa?

A: I think Iowa has always prided itself on having a quality education system. ... Are there inefficiencies in some places? Yes. ... They vary with the different school districts. There's not one thing that will fix everything. ... Are there too many school systems in Iowa? We have 360-some school districts in Iowa. Is that too many? I don't know that I have the answer, but I'm sure ... that number is probably too large. I believe that consolidation needs to be a local issue and it shouldn't be mandated from the state. The Legislature should be giving incentives to schools to consolidate.

Q: Do you think the Iowa Core Curriculum is effective?

A: If you're talking about right now, is it effective? No, because it hasn't been fully implemented yet. The implementation has been spotty at best. I think we need to give it time. I think if it's fully implemented ... it will help. I believe eventually the Iowa Core Curriculum will be very beneficial to students.