Des Moines, Iowa — State spending on public schools for the next fiscal year is still up in the air at the Statehouse.
Republicans are the majority in both the House and Senate, and they are still about $15 million apart on the K-12 state aid funding level. That level was to have been set — according to state law — by February 13th.
Sheldon Community Schools Superintendent Cory Myer says the longer they take, the less time the schools have to make important decisions.
Myer tells us how much money we’re talking about.
He tells us what that difference would mean to the Sheldon Community School District.
Myer tells us that the increases in recent years are much less than they used to be. He says several years ago when he was employed as a superintendent elsewhere they had five years in a row of four percent increases, and he says that’s about what’s needed to cover cost-of-living increases and other needs. So while he’s happy the legislature is funding at this level, it’s still not really enough.
Two other proposals have already been signed by the governor. One increases the support of geographically-large school districts with hefty transportation costs. The other commits new money to help equalize per-pupil spending across all Iowa districts. That funding is supposed to narrow the gap in the amount of money that districts are allowed to spend annually for each student, bringing it down from $165 per pupil to $155.
We asked Myer why per-pupil spending isn’t the same across all districts.
School districts must finalize next year’s budget by April 15th. But schools must provide public notice and hold board meetings before that, so the clock is ticking for the legislature.
