Statewide Iowa — Republicans in the legislature have agreed on a two-and-a-half percent increase in state spending that’s divided among public school districts on a per pupil basis.
Governor Reynolds recommended the same amount and it’s expected she’ll approve the bill soon. Democrats like Senator Jackie Smith of Sioux City say it’s far short of what’s needed.
Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton, the Republican chair of the Senate Education Committee, says the average salary for Iowa educators is 61-thousand dollars.
Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, says the increase won’t come close to meeting the rising costs of utilities and transportation or addressing the competition for teachers.
Sinclair says hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief can help schools cover short-term inflationary costs and this two-and-a-half percent bump in general state support on top of that is a promise that can be kept.
House Republicans approved this spending level last week and Senate Republicans voted for it Monday. Another House GOP proposal would send schools an additional 19 million dollars to deal with staff shortages, but Senate Republicans have not voted on that plan.
