Iowans will have a chance to weigh in on state school funding at a public hearing scheduled for Feb. 13. In this photo, a school bus drops off a young passenger in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Photo by Tim Henderson/Stateline)
Iowa House lawmakers plan to hold a public hearing Thursday on the state’s funding for the public K-12 education system in the coming school year.
The public hearing was called for by Democrats on House File 319, the House’s bill setting a 2.25% State Supplemental Aid rate for the upcoming fiscal year.
The legislation would set a slightly higher SSA rate than the 2% proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Republicans. It also includes other funding components for public schools, such as a one-time $22.6 million increase for per-pupil funding and changes to schools’ operational sharing budget and a rise in school transportation equity payments.
At a subcommittee meeting on the proposal Monday, some education advocates spoke in support of the bill, thanking House Republicans for introducing a public education spending proposal that addresses some of the funding concerns facing Iowa’s public K-12 schools. Emily Piper with the Iowa Association of School Boards said though schools would benefit from a higher SSA rate, the House bill is preferable to the Senate 2% SSA proposal, Senate File 167.
“I’m going to note that 2.25% is still going to cause many districts to struggle to meet their rising costs, particularly with health insurance and property casualty insurance,” Piper said. “But when we take a look at the entire package … we believe this is the best proposal on the table moving forward, so we are happy to stand in support of it.”
Melissa Peterson with the Iowa State Education Association said though she prefers the House’s funding proposal compared to the Senate’s, that a 2.25% increase in the per-pupil funding rate would still not “enable districts to keep up with the cost of just doing business,” due to rising costs of staffing insurance, utilities and other needed expenditures.
“I would just make sure everyone knows that this would be the lowest SSA rate we have seen since 2020,” Peterson said. “At a time when our state has more than $6 billion in reserves — more (than) $3 billion of which is not set aside for Taxpayer Relief. So we think, in part, due to your responsible budgeting practices, that we have the resources to be able to invest what we are asking for, which is a minimum of 5% SSA.”
The House Appropriations Committee also met Monday and approved the bill in a 15-9 vote. Democrats spoke in opposition, with Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty, calling for an increase to a 5% SSA rate.
“I understand that there are a lot of things in here that people are grateful for, some small things that have been added in here, but at the end of the day, it comes down to 2.25% is not enough for our schools,” Nielsen said. “They would need probably more closer to 5% to be made whole.”
Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny and ranking member of the House Education Committee, criticized Republican spending priorities as costs are projected to increase for the state Education Savings Account program, which allows Iowa families to make an account for their student matched to the per-pupil funding at public school districts, that goes toward private school tuition and associated costs.
The ESA program will be fully implemented in the 2025-2026 school year with no income limits. Since it was signed into law in 2023, the program has been phased in with income limits — in year one, public school students and private school students that have a family income of 300% over the federal poverty line were eligible for the ESA program, and in the current school year, accounts were available for families at 400% of the FPL, with restrictions lifted in year three onward.
Matson said that Iowa should be better funding its public school system rather than increasing public dollars going to private schools.
“Instead of a 44% increase in state funding for vouchers next year, we should be investing those dollars in public schools,” Matson said in a statement. “The plan from Reynolds and GOP leaders to increase funding to public schools by just 2% is unacceptable. If Republicans can find $1 billion for private schools, they sure as hell can do more for our public school kids.”
The public hearing on the House bill is set for 11 a.m. Thursday in Room 103 of the State Capitol. People who wish to speak can sign up here.
Rep. Dan Gehlbach, R-Urbandale, the floor manager for the bill, said that while negotiations will be ongoing, that lawmakers hope to move on the measure in a timely fashion to “make sure our schools can budget as soon as possible for next year.” In 2024, the Legislature did not pass an SSA rate until March — a move education advocates said put school districts in a difficult position as they face budgeting deadlines of their own in March.