Senate Democrats favor 2 percent increase for K-12 schools next year

Democrats who control the Iowa Senate have decided to seek a 2 percent “allowable growth” increase for base state school aid for the fiscal 2012 budget year.

Democrats, who hold a 26-24 majority, emerged from closed-door cause Monday indicating they can't agree with Gov. Terry Branstad and House Republicans who say the state cannot afford any increase in state aid to K-12 schools for the next two fiscal years. Branstad and Republicans instead want to backfill at least $156 million in property tax relief through the state's school aid formula and provide no new money for school operations through June 2013.

“I think that 2 percent is at least what is necessary to have adequate funding of our school operations,” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Quirmbach said he expected a subcommittee would meet on Tuesday or Wednesday morning and he expected the full committee would discuss allowable growth at its Wednesday meeting but he was uncertain whether a vote would be taken then on proposals to provide a 2 percent increase in general K-12 funding and a separate 2 percent increase for categorical” funding, which includes initiatives for teacher pay, class-size reduction, reading readiness programs and professional development.

Earlier in the day, during a discussion with a GOP senator who was inpatient that lawmakers were slow to knuckle down to fiscal 2012 budget work, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, noted that previous governors and Legislatures had never set a zero allowable growth rate dating back to 1974 and he did not think they should start now.

“I think that's outrageous. I think it jeopardizes the future of our children,” said Gronstal, who declined to confirm or deny whether his caucus' position on the fiscal 2012 allowable growth rate is 2 percent. However, other Senate Democrats said that was the number settled on Monday after a wide-ranging discussion in which some senators spoke in favor of seeking a higher growth rate.

“We'll probably come out with 2 percent,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg. “We had people in there that some wanted 6 (percent) and some wanted 4 (percent) but the majority is probably in that 2 (percent) area and then draw a line in the sand. We've never had zero and 2 percent is $70 million bucks approximately over zero and it probably saves that much in property taxes.”

Kibbie said a zero allowable growth level would spell trouble for school districts with declining enrollment – which is about two thirds of Iowa's 359 districts. He said providing a 2 percent increase in base state aid next school year “would probably save 30 teachers their jobs.”

“I think all of us wish it could be more, but we're being very realistic and making sure that we've got a budget we can sustain,” said Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque.

The House Education Committee later this week is slated to consider legislation that cleared subcommittee that would set allowable growth at zero for the fiscal 2012 budget year and also provide no new money for “categorical” funding which includes initiatives for teacher pay, class-size reduction, reading readiness programs and professional development.

During his budget message last week Branstad said he wanted to provide money needed to cover state education cost shifts to property taxes when former Gov. Chet Culver ordered a 10 percent across-the-board budget cut in October 2009. Some of that cut to education was later restored but Branstad said he wanted to earmark state money in the fiscal 2012 budget to cover the shift to property taxes, which would mean there was not enough available revenue to provide increase base state aid to schools in the next two fiscal years.

Education groups and school administrators have warned about negative consequences associated with no state aid increase for school, but Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, said it is important that school leaders, school board members, teachers, parents and others contact their legislators so they understand the implications as Branstad, majority GOP representatives and majority Democrat senators approach difficult negotiations that will result in a fiscal 2012 spending plan.