Area high school students to lobby for K-12 funding increases

CEDAR RAPIDS — Ever wonder what high school students think of the battle over education funding at the statehouse? Here are a few thoughts shared by Jefferson High School students during a meeting on Tuesday.

'That's unfortunate,' one student said in response to the House of Representatives' recommended 2 percent increase for K-12 education for fiscal year 2017.

'Why are schools being targeted and not other agencies [for cuts]?' asked another.

Yet another student wondered if the fine art programs she loves at Jefferson High School would be cut if the state legislature doesn't approve a higher increases for Iowa's public schools.

The Iowa Legislature will hear a lot more from these students soon. Jefferson, Kennedy, Washington and Metro High Schools are busing about 50 of those students to Des Moines Wednesday to ask lawmakers these questions and more and to lobby for funding increases above the ones supported by Gov. Terry Branstad and the Republican-controlled House. District officials hope this will show lawmakers the faces and voices of those most impacted by these decisions.

Some of these students met Tuesday with Brad Buck, superintendent of the Cedar Rapids School District, at a Tuesday planning meeting at the school district's Educational Leadership and Support Center. He encouraged them to tell lawmakers the experiences they've had with programs at Cedar Rapids schools— programs that may be cut for future students in the district without more state funding.

'You guys are our future, and we want to make sure to get you that great education,' Buck said to the group.

Alivia Severson, a junior at Jefferson High School, said she plans to tell legislators Wednesday she takes German and doesn't want to see it eliminated. She said she is apprehensive because specialized language programs are often the first to go when schools look for ways to cut costs.

'I was a little surprised that the schools are being targeted about this because schooling is the foundation for the rest of your life,' Severson said. 'If you don't get proper schooling, you can't get a proper job.'

The House voted in January to boost K-12 funding 2 percent — about $81 million in fiscal year 2017 — lower than Branstad's 2.45 percent proposal. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, supported a 4 percent increase Tuesday, arguing anything less would shortchange students and raise local property taxes. House Republicans have attested that while modest, a 2 percent increase is appropriate given the state's financial realities.

But Superintendent Buck said an increase of anything less than 3.72 percent will require the district to cut $2 million to $2.7 million from its staffing and student programming budgets to keep up with increasing operating and personnel costs.