The Thompson Times

The Iowa House version of the school funding was released this past week. The Student Supplemental Aid (SSA) is higher than that proposed by the Senate. It sets SSA at 2% which means the state now pays $8,148 per student, an increase of $160 over last school year (in 2012 = $5883). I’ve heard and read that some are of the opinion the state is underfunding public education. The Iowa Constitution dictates we have a balanced budget. According to the most recent Certified Annual Report related to Iowa school funding, Iowa public schools spent $23,711.08 per K-12 student during the 2023-2024 school year which included local, state, and federal dollars. The national average for per pupil spending is roughly $16,000 per student. 

The total number of students that school year was 483,699. The average class size in Iowa is roughly 20 students. That means Iowa is spending almost $474,000 per classroom.

The average teacher salary in Iowa is about $63,500. With benefits included, it is about $85,000. That means roughly $389,000 of non-teacher salary spending per classroom.

Iowa’s K-12 public schools receive funding from three levels of government. Local, state, and federal governments all provide various amounts of tax dollars for K-12 school districts. Across all three levels of funding plus various other financing sources, the total amount of taxpayer funding in the 2023-2024 school year for public schools was about $11.5 billion.

While the school budget is important and a large portion of our state budget, there were many other pieces of legislation that made it through the first funnel. Four of the five bills I authored made it through committee. I will be floor managing the Human Trafficking team legislation sometime this week. A bill I put forward last year was resurrected and passed through Public Safety Committee. It is the SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Exam) legislation to standardize the procedures to ensure prosecution occurs and convictions are upheld.

I am receiving emails regarding HSB 751 (Right to Repair). While it sounds like the right thing for our farmers, I am learning there are parts to the bill that could be detrimental to businesses. I am investigating the concerns brought forward. 

There have been messages regarding HSB 696 which aims to focus Iowa’s public assistance programs on caring for disabled Iowans and preparing able-bodied adults for life after welfare. This bill also implements requirements found in the federal bill recently passed.

Subacute Mental Health Facilities are being addressed in HF 2543. It proposes to remove the 10-day limit, prohibits prior authorization for admission the first 15 days of treatment along with other stipulations benefiting those needing subacute mental health care. Other priorities are State and Federal Water Quality programs, Child Care, Foster Care along with other legislation from every committee. As we begin more debate on the floor to pass legislation, I will continue to advocate for the legislation to protect the most vulnerable.