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A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest from Thursday:
SCHOOL FUNDING AGREEMENT: The Iowa House approved a 2.4 percent increase in K-12 school funding that will provide an additional $36.5 million for K-12 schools.
That, along with other funding approved, would be an increase of $199 per pupil to $7,227.
Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, said the House, which had proposed a 2.5 percent increase, reached agreement with the Senate, which approved a 2.2 percent increase earlier in the week.
SF 269 now goes back to the Senate for concurrence before going to the governor.
This has been a rough year for schools, said Rep. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids. School districts are grappling with the challenge of COVID-19, and many districts are recovering from the derecho.
IPR file
The percentage increase in school aid would be about the same as last year, but the dollar increase would be smaller because the pandemic has led to decreased enrollment statewide.
Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have reached an agreement to increase state aid to K-12 public schools by 2.4 percent, or about $36.5 million.
The Iowa House passed an amended Senate bill (SF 269) Thursday that would increase state aid for schools by 2.4 percent. That rate would be a near repeat of last year’s 2.3 percent increase in supplemental state aid. However, because of a drop in enrollment by nearly 6,000 students statewide during the pandemic, the dollar increase would be about $50 million smaller.
DES MOINES - Legislative Republicans on Monday advanced separate funding bills they say will meet the needs of K-12 schools next fiscal year. But critics slammed the proposals as inadequate, cruel and vengeful in trying to punish the Des Moines public schools in particular for failing to immediately comply with Gov. Kim Reynolds push for in-person classroom instruction against the backdrop of a pandemic.
DES MOINES - Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday rejected Democrats proposals to require face masks in the Iowa State Capitol during this year s legislative session.