Hunter
02/17/26
The Iowa House Appropriations Committee has approved a 2.25% increase in State Supplemental Aid for K-12 education.
That figure is half a percent higher than the 1.75% rate passed by the Iowa Senate, and higher than Governor Kim Reynolds’ 2% recommendation.
The House plan also includes offsetting roughly $47.7 million to ensure property taxes do not increase in the coming year for schools placed on the budget guarantee. That’s the system in place allowing school districts to increase property taxes if they cannot meet funding obligations under the state SSA rate.
It also includes a $1 million cap on individual school districts for transportation equity payments, and an additional $14 million toward paraeducator and support personnel pay.
Advocates and educators are calling for an even bigger increase. Margaret Buckton, representing the Urban Education Network and Rural School Advocates of Iowa, said the Senate’s 1.75% SSA rate was below inflation, and said a good “benchmark” for funding schools would be to match the Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference predictions that show an estimated 4.2% revenue increase in FY 2027. Buckton added that if school funding is passed at a lower rate, it will mark the 7th consecutive year that school funding increases have lagged inflation.