DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Senate Republicans in Iowa approved an education funding bill Thursday, calling it sound budgeting, but some school officials argue it will increase class sizes and lead to teacher layoffs.
The GOP-controlled chamber voted 28-21 for the legislation, which would go into effect for the budget year that starts in July. It has support in the Republican-led House, where a vote is scheduled Monday.
The bill would add about $40 million to Iowa’s roughly $3 billion kindergarten through 12th grade budget. That means $73 would be added to what’s spent on each Iowa student, which is currently just less than $6,600.
Republicans say the amount is all the state can responsibly afford amid spending constraints. Lawmakers recently cut roughly $117 million in spending from the current budget, a scenario that emerged in part from the Legislature tapping into surplus dollars over several years. The practice has left the state with little spending flexibility despite continued revenue growth.
GOP Sen. Amy Sinclair of Allerton said that “$40 million is a sustainable amount and it’s dedicated to our schools.”
“We know we won’t have to back away from that should revenues go down as they did this year,” she said.
Sinclair added that lawmakers were reviewing other aspects of the education budget formula, which may result in legislation this session that gives schools more breathing room on some spending.
To Tammy Wawro, president of the Iowa State Education Association, that’s not a convincing argument. The proposal doesn’t account for increased operating costs at school districts, which will result in staffing cuts and have other ripple effects like delayed textbook purchases and fewer class offerings for students, Wawro said.
She described a school in Des Moines with a classroom that didn’t have enough seats to accommodate an influx of students. She said some children had to sit on the floor.
“This is not the Iowa school system that the people before me put in place, and the people before these folks here put in place,” she said. “I’m just extremely disappointed.”
The legislation would also remove a requirement that lawmakers set K-12 education funding roughly two years out. Lawmakers have rarely followed the law in recent years amid partisanship over money.
The GOP funding plan - roughly a 1.1 percent increase - is less than the 2 percent increase that Republican Gov. Terry Branstad proposed last month when making budget recommendations. His proposal is backed by Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will step in as governor if Branstad resigns to become the next U.S. ambassador to China.
Democrats attempted to increase the funding to match the governor’s plan, but said even the amount proposed by Branstad is inadequate.
Sen. Herman Quirmbach, an Ames Democrat, said the GOP plan “is a disaster for this state’s education, for our children’s future.”
Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheyedan, also criticized the bill. The former Republican said surrounding states have been investing more money into K-12 education and teacher salaries, which will drive talent away from Iowa. He said the state isn’t prioritizing education and that “the people of Iowa are watching.”
“They will respond at the next election. That’s my prediction,” he said.
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