Sheldon, Iowa — The Iowa Legislature has passed a bill dealing with per pupil funding for public schools in the state for the next school year.
We wondered how the law would impact the Sheldon Community School District. Sheldon Community Schools Superintendent Cory Myer says the legislators passed a bill that increases school funding for next year.
(As above) “We get a state supplemental amount and that’s the amount that’s set by the legislature. They set that at 2.4% this year, that means we’ll see an increase of 2.4% in that funding.”
Myer says the funds are calculated on a per-student basis.
(As above) “Schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, so we get a district cost per pupil. That minimum now will be $7,227. That previous amount was $179 less than that, which equals the 2.4% increase. So that 2.4% increase means that we receive $179 per student more in future funding.”
He says Sheldon has seen an increase in enrollment, which translates to more funding.
(As above) “Our enrollment went up, so we saw a 24 student increase. And so, we’ll receive additional funding based on the fact we saw an enrollment increase. And then we’ll also see an increase in funding because we saw the 2.4% cost per student increase. So we’ll see it on both ends of the spectrum that way.”
Myer says the Sheldon School District is excited about the opportunities the funding will afford them.
(As above) “From a funding standpoint it definitely benefitted us and we’re excited about that increased opportunity that those funds will provide.”
Myer says that the District’s enrollment is just under 1,100 students, which means that the $179 per pupil increase will amount to a total increase of more than $196,000 for the District.
