DES MOINES – Iowa Democratic legislators in the Senate passed $200 million in additional school funding this week – a 6% increase – for the 2015-16 school year. Two bills were passed by a vote of 26-23, which face an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled House.
According to Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum of Dubuque, “this money would pay for the basics: up-to-date textbooks, heating bills, teacher salaries and gas for the buses.”
The Senate also approved a bill allocating additional state dollars to prevent any related property tax increase.
State law requires school funding to be set 18 months ahead of the academic year so that school boards, administrators and educators can plan for local needs and make the best use of state resources, Jochum said. “Iowa educators tell us that predictable, sustained state investment in education is the most effective way to increase student achievement.”
Iowa has fallen to 37th in the nation when it comes to per pupil spending and Iowa is more than $1,500 below the national average in terms of how much we invest in each student, according to figures released by Jochum.
“A six percent increase would be welcome news for our local schools. It would help them bounce back from several lean years while also implementing the education reforms we approved in 2013. Since 2011, school funding in Iowa has suffered,” Jochum said.
Jochum said that Iowa has the money to reverse the trend.
“Our reserve accounts are full at more than $650 million, and we have a surplus of $842 million. The major U.S. financial rating agencies all give Iowa the highest rating of AAA. Only seven other states match us with an across-the-board AAA rating.”
The two funding bills passed by the Senate must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by Governor Terry Branstad before the funding increase becomes law. Iowa Republicans have said that waiting until next legislative session to take on the school funding issue is more agreeable to them, so that tax revenues can be measured. Governor Branstad has said that the state cannot afford the increase.
More information from Senate President Jochum:
With this week’s vote on school funding, the Senate obeyed state law requiring the Legislature to set education funding 18 months in advance of the school year, and the House and Governor should follow our lead. We must put politics aside, follow the law and support the students who are the future of a strong state economy. The Legislature is expected to set school funding within 30 days after the Governor presents his state budget, and for the 2014 session, the deadline is February 13.
Iowa superintendents overwhelmingly believe state lawmakers should meet that deadline and set funding for the 2015-16 school year, as the law requires. In a recent survey, 98 percent of the 214 superintendents who responded oppose the House and Governor’s plan to wait until next year to decide on funding.
In past legislative sessions, the House and Governor have defied the advance budgeting law, allowing K-12 education funding to become entangled with other issues and even held hostage for reasons unrelated to students or schools. The message we are hearing from superintendents this year is clear: Don’t delay school funding again. Nearly every superintendent (99 percent) we surveyed said education dollars would be used more effectively if lawmakers followed the law and set school funding well in advance.
We have made some big changes with recent education reforms. Now we must provide financial stability so schools can successfully enact those changes and make sure all Iowa kids graduate with the skills to land a good job. When asked how they would use our proposed 6 percent increase in basic school funding, school superintendents said strengthening reading and writing skills in elementary students, implementing Iowa’s common core curriculum and reducing class sizes are their top priorities.
Rep. Sharon Steckman of Mason City, Ranking Member of the House Education Committee, and Sen. Herman Quirmbach of Ames, Chair of the Senate Educational Committee, released results on February 4, 2014 of a survey of Iowa superintendents.
“Iowa superintendents overwhelmingly believe state lawmakers should quickly set basic school aid for schools next year as required by state law. 98% of the 214 superintendents who responded oppose the House Republican and Governor’s plan to wait until the 2015 legislative session to set allowable growth for the 2015-2016 school year.