Branstad goal: 2 percent funding bump for K-12 schools

WAVERLY - Gov. Terry Branstad says he hopes the state will be able to provide increases of up to 2 percent in general-fund appropriations to K-12 schools for each of the next two fiscal years.

Branstad has started formulating the two-year budget blueprint now that the state Revenue Estimating Conference has made projections of how much money the state expects to take in through June 30, 2018.

REC members reduced this fiscal year's projection, which likely will mean the governor and Legislature will have to make cuts of about $110 million in the current state budget by June 30.

For fiscal 2018, the three-member conference projected tax collections of about $7.556 billion, or a 4.8 percent growth that equates to about an $344 million yearly increase.

During a visit to Waverly this week, Branstad told a local superintendent he hoped he could recommend 2 percent growth in state supplemental schools aid when he presents his budget and Condition of the State address to lawmakers Jan. 10.

'I don't think it'll be higher than that; I think it'll be hard to get to that; and we'll have to cut a lot of other things to get there,” Branstad said. 'I intend to recommend a biannual budget, with supplemental state aid for both years at 2 percent, and ask the Legislature to do it within the first 30 days.”

The governor also said that any funding decreases that will be made this fiscal year would not cut from education or Medicaid dollars.

Education funding represents that largest expenditure in the state's general fund.

According to the Legislative Services Agency, a 2 percent increase in state supplemental aid for fiscal 2018 would boost the line item by $130 million to $3.22 billion. For fiscal 2019, a 2 percent increase in state supplemental aid to K-12 schools would cost about $3.272 billion to the state general fund - an increase of about $52.2 million compared with the fiscal 2018 estimate.

The fiscal 2018 increase is larger because that is the last year of roll-in for the Teacher Leadership and Compensation system to the school aid formula, according to LSA projections. The current budget year is the last year that some school districts receive the funds as a grant, with all districts receiving funding for the program through the school aid formula in fiscal 2018.