Slain deputy part of debate on Iowa education budget

DES MOINES – A slain Keokuk County sheriff's deputy and disabled Cedar Rapids police officers were briefly part of the Iowa House debate of a $791.9 million state education budget Tuesday.

A day after a Eric Stein, 38, was killed outside a rural Sigourney home, Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, D-Cedar Rapids, proposed an “important and timely amendment to honor those who protect us” by offering free tuition for children of peace officers and firefighters killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.

In addition to benefitting Stein's 9-year-old daughter, the measure also would cover the sons of Tim Davis, a Cedar Rapids police officer, who suffered a life-threatening brain injury when he was assaulted by a robbery suspect on March 29, 2009. He was hospitalized for 39 days following the attack.

Davis has returned to work on a fulltime basis, handling clerical and data entry duties. It is unknown if he will ever be a full-time patrol officer again.

Running-Marquardt's amendment to House File 645 would have directed community colleges and the Board of Regents to waive tuition and mandatory fees for children of police and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty or suffered an injury putting them on permanent disability.

She said 44 other states offer an education benefit for children of slain and disabled peace officers and firefighters.

Her amendment came a day after Stein became the 157th Iowa peace officer to die in the line of duty in 142 years, according to a listing on the Iowa Department of Public Safety. He was the 54th law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty this year, the 24th due to gunfire.

However, Running-Marquardt withdrew her amendment, saying House leadership had encouraged her to continue to work on the amendment and offer it again later this session. Lawmakers from both parties want to have input in the proposal, she said.

There are questions about what disabilities would be covered by Running-Marquardt's plan, House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha said, adding that he expects to see the proposal again, either as a stand alone bill or as an amendment.

HF 645 included $791.9 million for the Department for the Blind, the College Student Aid Commission, including tuition grants, the Department of Education, including the State Library, Early Childhood Iowa, community colleges, preschool, vocational rehab, and Iowa Public Television, and the Board of Regents.

It would cut $43.7 million from the current $835.6 million budget, a 5.51 percent decrease. In addition, according to the Democratic analysis, HF 645 would fail to restore $14.1 million from other funds that were provided in the fiscal 2011 budget, making the total reduction $57.8 million. The House budget would spend $24 million less than the governor recommended.

Democrats argued the budget, which included Gov. Terry Branstad's scholarship programs – or vouchers, as they called it - for 4-year-old preschool, is “leaving kids behind,” according to Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport.

They objected to the reduction in funding for preschool from about $60 million to $34 million. Branstad has asked for $44 million.

However, floor manager Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, said the preschool program was unsustainable. No funding stream was identified by Democrats when they were in the majority and started the program, he said. As a result, Dolecheck said, the state has had to cut funding for the three regents universities and community colleges.

But Rep. Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, argued majority Republicans were cutting community colleges and universities because they're choosing to cut them despite the revenue Estimating Conference's projections of 3.9 percent revenue growth.

Democrats also criticized the plan for failing older students, too. Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said students are shouldering 54 percent of their tuition costs while the state is paying 46 percent. The state's share of tuition cost is down from 77 percent when she attended University of Northern Iowa.

“There's no way we can afford another $49 million in our budget,” Dolecheck said, urging his colleagues to defeat a Winckler amendment to restore funding to fiscal 2011 levels by adding $9.2 million for community colleges and $39.9 million for regents universities.

It was defeated 37-57.

The House then voted 54-42 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate.