Iowa lawmakers bemoan lack of new educational funding

DES MOINES - Working with a funding increase of less than one-half of 1 percent for the coming fiscal year, Iowa legislators warned of higher tuition at universities and community colleges, and delayed summer reading programs at the K-12 level.

'It's unfortunate we are in a situation that only $4.9 million is being invested in our education program,” Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, told colleagues on the Education Appropriations Subcommittee Tuesday.

She was referring to the $4.9 million increase in education funding in the $7.35 billion budget lawmakers are expected to approve in the coming days. After factoring in a shift of $12.6 million from human services to education, the $1,009,736,682 education budget is an increase of 0.49 percent from the current year.

Subcommittee co-chairs Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, and Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, hope to have final budget numbers Wednesday morning.

'We're close,” Dolecheck said. 'There's not much to fight over when you only have $5 million.”

The problem didn't start this year, said Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, who noted that in his 43-year legislative career he's voted for at least three sales tax increases to support education funding.

'We don't want education to go to hell,” Horn said. 'Last year we said next year. We can't do that much more this year, but what are we going to do next year?”

Nearly every member of the committee mentioned the need to increase community college funding, which was unchanged last year after Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed funds for the two-year schools.

Community colleges are looking at hiking tuition $10 to $11 a credit hour to cover their costs, according to Rep. Charlie McConkey, D-Council Bluffs.

A tuition increase is almost certain at regents' universities, added Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, who said more than half of his constituents are Iowa State University students.

The Board of Regents asked for $20 million in new funds for the 2017 fiscal year. Branstad put $8 million in his budget proposal to be split between the three universities.

University tuitions have more than doubled in recent decades, Quirmbach said, and, when adjusted for inflation, regents' university funding has decreased $300 million.

Lawmakers also discussed the lack of funding that has led to a delay in starting a summer intensive reading program for third-graders not reading at grade level. Branstad didn't budget funds for the program for this summer, but about 130 school districts are planning pilot programs.

Without state funding, lawmakers said the summer intensive reading program is a $10 million unfunded mandate of local schools.