Des Moines, Iowa — Lawmakers’ decisions on the state budget and other high profile issues are apparently on hold.
Governor Kim Reynolds continues to lobby for state-funded scholarships for 10-thousand kids to enroll in private schools.
The Republican-led senate has passed the governor’s plan, but Reynolds does not yet have 51 Republican “yes” votes lined up in the Iowa House. The governor told reporters she’s fighting for every vote and isn’t interested in negotiating with legislators on other issues, like the bottle bill.
Reynolds says the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows public school students in Iowa are falling behind their peers in other states. Sixty-eight percent of fourth graders are reading at that grade level, which Reynolds says is unacceptable.
Members of the Iowa House and Senate get a daily allowance to cover expenses during the first 100 days of the legislative session. Those payments end next Tuesday. That yearly cut-off often triggers decision making that leads to the conclusion of the legislature. Reynolds says state-funded scholarships for private school expenses will be at the top of her 2023 legislative agenda if they aren’t approved this year.
Republicans who are reluctant to support the governor’s private school initiative say small public schools in rural Iowa have tight budgets now and could see another drop in state funding with a shift to more state support of private schools.
