Approval for supplemental funding for Iowa's schools has been stalemated in the Iowa Legislature so far this session. Democrats are proposing a 4 percent increase and Republicans are holding strong at a 1.25 percent increase.
During this River to River program, Iowa Public Radio's Dean Borg talks with Des Moines Register Political Columnist Kathie Obradovich, Radio Iowa’s Kay Henderson and The Cedar Rapids Gazette’s James Q. Lynch about the politics behind the quagmire at the statehouse.
This is the same debate that was held two years ago at the Iowa Statehouse. Republicans have a sizeable majority to control the debate agenda in the House, and Democrats have a narrow majority but still control the debate agenda in the Iowa Senate. - Kay Henderson
“This is the same debate that was held two years ago at the Iowa Statehouse. Republicans have a sizeable majority to control the debate agenda in the House, and Democrats have a narrow majority, but still control the debate agenda in the Iowa Senate,” explains Henderson.
“The only new element of this story this time around has been the act of the Davenport superintendent to suggest that he won’t follow the law and will dip into reserve funds to ensure that his school district doesn’t have to lay off teachers. The Davenport situation brings up something more fundamental. It really is about the difference between property rich districts and property poor districts, and that’s not being addressed at the legislature.”
In the second half of the program, University of Northern Iowa professor Chris Larimer joins the conversation.
Borg and his guests also address the ongoing federal investigation into Iowa’s Office of Workforce Development and how that may affect Governor Terry Branstad’s legacy.
