Veto puts Corridor schools in budget pinch

CEDAR RAPIDS — Gov. Terry Branstad's decision late last week to veto $55.7 million in one-time education funding could lead to reduced hiring, delayed purchases and deficit spending among Corridor school districts, administrators said Tuesday.

The money — part of a budget compromise between Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature — would have supplemented a 1.25 percent increase in state supplemental aid for Iowa's 336 school districts. Some districts had planned their 2015-16 budgets with the understanding that they would have that one-time money to help pay for operational expenses, such as curriculum materials.

In the Cedar Rapids Community School District, that means administrators are looking for ways to reduce expenses, said Brad Buck, the district's new superintendent. The district also could reduce the number of employees it hires, Buck said.

Cedar Rapids administrators and teachers union leaders last month agreed on a contract that includes a 1.5 percent total compensation increase for the upcoming school year and a 3.5 percent increase the following year. The district planned to place some of the one-time money in its reserve fund in anticipation of that larger increase in 2016-17, Buck and associate superintendent Trace Pickering said.

Other districts also are facing budget difficulty after the veto.

In the Iowa City Community School District, administrators will consider leaving some open positions unfilled, said Superintendent Stephen Murley.

The Linn-Mar Community School District likely will operate in a deficit this year, said new Superintendent Quintin Shepherd.

In the Solon Community School District, administrators might delay purchases of technology and curriculum materials, new Superintendent Davis Eidahl said.

Administrators said they had not yet worked out the details of budget adjustments, though they would try to reduce operational costs.

'It wasn't about uncertainty'

Buck — who until last week worked in Branstad's administration as the director of the Iowa Department of Education — said the veto could affect some of the governor's education priorities, as well.

Some Iowa districts might have used the one-time money to pilot summer reading programs, which all districts will be required to have in 2017 under a 2012 state reading law, Buck said.

Others could have used it to pay tutors from the Iowa Reading Corps program, he added.

The rationale the governor gave for the veto also is not in 'complete alignment' with the Legislature's intent when it passed the one-time funding, Buck said.

Branstad said at a news conference Monday that he was opposed to 'using one-time money for ongoing expenses.'

But the bill that included the funding states that the money was intended for 'instructional expenditures,' which it defined as books, transportation costs, instructional materials and equipment and 'educational initiatives proven to increase student achievement.'

'The way the law was constructed, it wasn't about uncertainty,' Buck said. 'It really was about trying to provide funding for schools for one-time costs.'

Vetoed one-time money for Corridor school districts

Cedar Rapids: $1,878,307

Clear Creek Amana: $205,158

College Community: $535,412

Iowa City: $1,486,381

Linn-Mar: $796,855

Marion: $215,842

Solon: $144,333

Grant Wood Area Education Agency: $291,467

Source:

Iowa Legislative Services Agency