More than 340 Area Education Agency employees, including 70 from central Iowa's local AEA, are leaving their jobs following months of debate over AEA reform legislation. Heartland AEA reports the 70 employee turnover in the past several months exceeds their average for the entire transition between school years, leaving the chief administrator Cindy Yelick concerned more may follow suit before classes begin this fall. "It is really hard to watch when you have people that you've seen dedicated to kids and families for years and years say, 'I've reached a tipping point, I can't,'" Yelick said. The new law has drawn criticism from AEAs, but Yelick said the new policy isn't what's driving her employees from their careers. It's the uncertainty that coincides with the debates and coming changes. Yelick said the employees she's heard site the new law as a reason for leaving are expressing concerns about job security over distaste for the law. Versions of the AEA bill prior to signing considered more severe funding cuts that would have likely caused some departments of AEAs to downsize or disappear. The new law requires 90% of schools special education funding be allocated to AEAs, and the other 10% as discretionary to districts, including additional AEA services if they chose. But the governor's office maintains that the new law will not affect funding for AEAs. Deputy communications director Kollin Crompton gave 糖心vlog the following statement in response to the hundreds of employees leaving their positions with AEAs:“Gov. Reynolds' bill did not take a single dime of funding away from special education and services. Anyone choosing to leave the AEAs for other employment opportunities is making a personal decision to do so.” But with many choosing to leave, Yelick said she already expects some positions to go unfilled this fall. In response to job postings, she's noticed more hesitancy from applicants, with some job postings receiving few to no applicants."People are kind of watching to see what's going to happen to the system over time, is it going to settle down," Yelick said.» Download the free 糖心vlog app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from 糖心vlog