Iowa GOP senators approved a 2% increase for K-12 per pupil funding Monday, sending the proposal to the governor for final approval.
The increase sets the state cost per student at $8,148, which amounts to an additional $160 in funding per student compared to the current year. The same per-student funding level applies to state funding for charter schools as well as education savings accounts (ESA), which are used to pay private school tuition.
The rate is less than the House’s original proposed increase of 2.25%, but higher than the Senate’s initial proposal to increase funding by 1.75%. The proposal matches the increase proposed by the governor.
The bill caps transportation equity payments to no more than $1 million per district and lets a school district use an average enrollment account between fall and spring when determining their budget.
It also changes state aid payments to schools from monthly to quarterly.
Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, said the proposal amounts to $111.5 million of new funding this year for K-12 education. He said the payment schedule and enrollment count changes will give schools more stability when budgeting.
“Those are good changes that I don't think we've spent enough time talking about,” he said. “They're going to have a positive effect on many of our rural school districts in the state of Iowa, actually, many of our districts in general.”
Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, said the 2% increase was better than the original Senate proposal but still isn’t enough to keep up with inflation. She said continued low funding rates will lead to larger class sizes, more teachers leaving the profession and greater strain on rural districts.
“The 2% increase tells schools to absorb rising costs quietly and hope for the best, and it tells educators to do more with less, once again,” she said. “It tells students their opportunities are negotiable.”
Democrats said school districts like Boone, Gilbert and Ballard are already facing budget shortfalls and making cuts to staff and programs. They also criticized Republicans for writing a “blank check” for the state’s ESAs, while restricting dollars for school districts.
“That's not fiscal responsibility, that is a preference choice,” Donahue said. “Republicans cannot claim to support public education while systematically draining resources from it.”
The proposal includes $42.2 million for school districts on the budget guarantee to fill funding gaps with state dollars, rather than property taxes. The budget guarantee program normally allows schools to cover funding gaps with property taxes when state aid falls short.
According to a fiscal note, the 2% funding level puts 199 schools on the budget guarantee — 42 more than the current number, according to House Democrats.
The deal also includes $7 million for support staff and paraeducator pay, which is half of what the House originally proposed.
The proposal passed 27-20 in the Senate, with three Republicans voting against.
Funding proposal passes the House days earlier
During debate last week, House Democrats proposed an amendment that would set the funding increase at 5% and set aside $14 million for support staff and paraeducator pay. The amendment failed.
House Republicans said the Democratic amendment would cost an additional $126 million.
The GOP funding bill passed 58-35 in the House, with five Republicans voting against it.
Speaker of the House Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said the House will continue negotiating with Senate Republicans for an additional appropriation of $7 million to further support staff and paraeducator pay this session.
“This isn't the House just saying we're stopping at $7 million,” Grassley told reporters after the House debate last Thursday. “We're going to continue to push for it. We wanted to get it locked in right now as much as we could, because we came into this wanting as much as possible in that piece.”
Last year, lawmakers passed a 2% increase. The two years prior, they passed a 2.5% and 3% increase, respectively.
The bill next heads to the governor’s desk for final approval.
