Hunter
02/23/24
House Republicans have passed a 3% increase for Iowa’s K-12 public schools.
The Gazette reports the increase would amount to a $229 increase per student, bringing the state’s per-pupil spending to $7,864. The increase would bring the total K-12 spending from the state’s general fund to around $3.8 billion. House Republicans are also proposing a bill increasing starting pay for teachers to $50,000 over two years and raise pay for paraeducators and other staff.
Senate Republicans advanced a shell bill that doesn’t specify a funding increase.
Democrats say the three percent increase is essentially a cut to school funding and will cause cuts to staff, programs and services. They proposed a 6 percent increase and pointed out that the 3 percent figure is roughly the same amount of money that the state will spend on the school voucher plan for private schools.
Data from the Legislative Services Agency say the Republican-led legislature has provided an average increase of 2 percent since 2017.
Governor Kim Reynolds proposed a 2.5 percent increase in her 2024 budget.
