Iowa City school board considering impact to classroom in spending cuts

IOWA CITY — Echoing public sentiment, Iowa City school board members this week asked district officials to limit any reductions to staff who provide direct services to students in proposals to cut millions in spending for the upcoming academic year.

Iowa City Community School District Superintendent Matt Degner introduced more than $9 million in proposed spending cuts for the 2026-27 school year to the school board at its meeting Tuesday evening. Degner said the goal is to reach $6 million in cuts for next fiscal year — which begins July 1 — and anticipates more budget reductions will be needed in subsequent years.

The cost-saving measures are being proposed as the district faces an unknown financial cliff. In January, Iowa City school board members learned about a $10 million internal loan taken out in August 2025 without their knowledge. The school board last month retroactively approved the loan, but questions linger about the district’s financial health as expenses this fiscal year have outpaced projections.

The district saw a 9 percent average payroll cash increase this academic year — much more than was anticipated — and projected $15.7 million more in salary and benefits costs than the prior year, according to board documents.

Last year, the school board approved a $279 million fiscal 2026 budget — down about $40 million from the previous fiscal year that had included cuts like the closing of an elementary school in Hills.

Community concerned about cuts that ‘affect classrooms’

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Angie Rogers, who spoke during a public comment period, voiced concern about the proposed cuts that would be made to teaching staff and student support services.

“Approximately $5 million in identified cuts directly affect classrooms. By contrast, administrative reductions are described as approximately $2 million, but those reductions appear far less specific and largely contingent on reassignment or attrition. That is not the same level of sacrifice. Students and teachers will feel these cuts immediately; central administration will not,” Rogers told the board.

Several parents asked the district to consider discontinuing 1:1 Chromebooks — or one computer per student — at the elementary schools as a cost-savings measure, and school board members indicated support in exploring this.

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Jenna Schlegel-Preheim, who has two children at Twain Elementary School, referenced a book titled “The Digital Delusion” by Jared Cooney Horvath, which is about how “technology harms our kids learning, and how to help them thrive again,” she said.

Schlegel-Preheim cited research in the book that correlates lower test scores with consistent computer use at school.

“As money for ed tech goes up, learning goes down,” Schlegel-Preheim said. Technology is “teaching kids to fragment their attention, which is at odds with learning,” she said, adding that she personally is concerned about the “gamification” of learning online.

Other speakers voiced their concerns that school leaders have “mismanaged” funds.

Emily Campbell, who has two children in the district, said district leadership and the school board have “put us in a position that undermines this district speaking out” in support of increasing state funding for public schools.

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“The ICCSD has mismanaged its funding to the tune of $6 million,” Campbell asserted. “Before the district can speak out about the lack of public funding in this state, please prioritize managing our resources, implementing responsible governance, so we will once again be poised to lead this state in advocating for public funding and education.”

“Personally,” said David Noerper, who has two children in the district. “if I misplaced $10 million, I would resign. I don’t think that our leadership is doing their job.”

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“It took a team effort to dig a hole as deep as the one we are in. … We love our district, we love the student experience. This never should have happened, and we want to see accountability, and we want to see big change,” said Maka Pilcher Hayek, a former Iowa City school board member.

School board member Jayne Finch thanked the public for speaking.

“It’s uncomfortable to sit here and listen to angry people, but it’s really important. We should value a community concerned about the kids, and that’s what we’re hearing tonight is people who want the best for all the kids in our community.”

“I agree with what so many community commenters said tonight about trying to limit cuts to student-facing roles,” Finch continued. “Whatever we can do to try to limit the impact on our buildings and classrooms is very important. This is mission critical. The teachers in the classroom and students and personnel in the buildings should not bear the brunt of the mistakes that have been made by central administration.”

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School board wants to ensure stability

School board members agreed that once the district is through the “urgent situation” it’s in now, they need to take a look at how they can further reduce costs to ensure stability.

School board member Lisa Williams said this is the second time in her tenure on the board that the district has made “millions of dollars” in cuts.

“We wait until we’re in crisis mode,” Williams said. “We’re going to find the $6 million (in cuts) and be very thoughtful about it, but I don’t think that’s where our responsibility ends. I think we have to commit to taking a hard look at the district’s financial picture and come up with long-term budget reduction strategies.”

Williams suggested revisiting a school model called “pairing” that would create schools that serve grades K-2 paired with a school that serves grades 3-5. This model could result in cost savings because it would improve efficiency. Schools with more sections of a single grade level operate more efficiently because there are more classrooms of the same grade to divide students between.

“We have too many elementary seats and not enough kids to fill them. We’re bleeding costs,” Williams said.

What to expect next week

The Iowa City school board will continue to discuss budget reductions at a special board meeting starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at 2255 N. Dubuque Rd. in Iowa City. The meeting is open to the public.

The board also is expected to approve a $3 million short-term loan, which is expected to repaid in April when the district receives its property tax payments. Although officials anticipate current funding will cover March expenses, a loan allows them to maintain a cash reserve. The district is working with Midwest One Bank to secure the loan.

School officials say another longer-term loan will be needed in the future, but have yet to specify the amount.

Proposed cuts for the 2026-27 school year

The proposal for the upcoming academic year includes adjusting the district’s class size model at its elementary schools to reduce up to 10 classroom teachers through retirements and resignations, a savings of $900,000, according to documents.

Another five to six teaching staff could be reduced from the middle schools and six to seven teaching staff could be reduced from the high schools, a combined cost savings of $1.1 million. The reductions would occur through attrition.

Another $1 million could be saved through performance-based non-renewals of probationary teachers as recommended by building administrators. The board document does not specify how many positions could be affected.

The Iowa City district uses a model called the Weighted Resource Allocation Model to control elementary class sizes, based on rates of students who face barriers in their education. For example, if 70 percent or more students in a classroom receive free or reduced-price lunch, that class size will be smaller than a classroom that has fewer than the 70 percent.

Degner said reduction to teachers at the middle and high schools would not impact what curriculum is being taught, but school board members questioned that.

“You’re going to have to convince me that’s not going to impact programs,” Finch said.

More cuts proposed to the central office

District officials also are proposing millions in cost savings by reducing about 20 positions from the district office. This could include reassigning district office staff to school-based positions, which would reduce district office staff by up to 16, a $1.2 million savings, and not replacing its current resigned positions, a $300,000 savings.

The proposed budget cuts include a one-year pay freeze for executive cabinet administrators, which is the superintendent, deputy superintendent, chief of human resources, chief operations officer, executive director of community relations, executive director of educational services and student success and executive directors of elementary and secondary schools.

“The pay freeze goes without saying. I think we need to go further than that and take a fresh look at every contract in the organizational chart,” Finch said.

Another $750,000 could be saved by reducing staff based on attrition and reassigning substitutes for custodians into open positions. More cost savings could be achieved by reducing temporary technology, grounds and painting staff this summer.

Interim CFO begins this week

The school board Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with FGMK — a Chicago-based professional services firm — to provide an interim chief financial officer to the district. The cost to the district is $340 an hour and $460 an hour after 40 hours of work in a week. The district is paying a retainer of $30,000, according to the agreement. Board members asked for weekly updates from the interim CFO.

The district’s former CFO left last November. Degner said he hopes to have a permanent one by July 1.

Reducing costs this spring

Building administrators also have received spending and purchasing guidance to reduce costs for the remainder of this school year. That includes:

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