Budget woes expected to get worse in Cedar Rapids schools

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids schools expects a $7.4 million reduction in its budget over the next three fiscal years, as student enrollment in the district declines and Iowa’s per-pupil state aid fails to keep up with rising costs, Superintendent Tawana Grover said during an education panel this week.

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Grover said district leaders are trying to keep the financial burden “as far away from the classroom as possible” so it doesn’t affect learning or reduce teaching staff.

“It is definitely going to be a challenge,” Grover said.

Community partners who provide tutoring and summer school to students, for example, could be discontinued unless the district is able to find funding for the programs, Grover said Wednesday. That would place “more of a burden on our teachers,” she said.

The budget loss represents about 1 percent of the district’s overall budget each fiscal year.

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The panel was hosted by state Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library.

In addition to Grover, panelists were Cedar Rapids school board President David Tominsky and Vice President Cindy Garlock, president of the Cedar Rapids Education Association Eriece Colbert and state Sen. Liz Bennett, D-Cedar Rapids. About 30 people attended.

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A 3 percent increase to Iowa’s State Supplemental Aid — state funding for K-12 public schools — was approved earlier this year by Iowa lawmakers and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. That increase is “more like 2 percent” for the Cedar Rapids Community School District because of its declining enrollment, Garlock said.

Garlock said Iowa schools have “plummeted” in national rankings because the state has underfunded public schools.

State aid, which is based on the number of students attending a district, runs a year behind. The district's student count in October 2023 will be used to determine funding for the fiscal 2025 budget, which starts July 1, 2024.

New laws creating challenges

Legislative leaders are showing Iowans “there’s no trust at the local level” when it comes to making decisions for students, Cedar Rapids school board President David Tominsky said.

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“People closest to the kids are in the best position to make those decisions,” Tominsky said. “To think the further away you get, somehow you know better than the teachers and folks on the school board — when was the last time our legislators were in the classroom?”

Even as a school superintendent, Grover said she gets asked to “come to the schools and classrooms” to better understand what support teachers need in the classroom.

“People want to relate it back to when they were in school — times have definitely changed,” Grover said.

Grover said Iowa educators are “very confused” and trying to understand how to implement new requirements for schools approved by the Republican-led Iowa Legislature.

Senate File 496, signed into law May 26 by Reynolds, bars from school libraries books that depict or describe sexual acts. Schools also are required to have a policy that allows someone to request removal of any classroom materials.

Grover said the district is consulting with its legal counsel as the Iowa Library Association is cautioning school librarians to wait for guidance from the state education department before removing books.

“How to get students to want to read, to enjoy reading, to love reading, is to find something they connect with,” Grover said. Removing books from school libraries takes away students’ ability to learn about different cultures, history and its impact today and on the future, she said.

Lawmakers should be working on “more important things,” like providing more mental health support to students in school and preparing kids for the workforce, Grover said.

Cedar Rapids school leaders also voiced concern about the impact a new state-funded private school financial assistance program could have on public schools. Hundreds more Iowans than anticipated have applied for the education savings account program, potentially costing state taxpayers $11.2 million more than lawmakers had budgeted.

“Cedar Rapids is fortunate we have a very robust private school system here, and we have coexisted with them,” Garlock said, adding, “ I fully anticipate we will see an impact.”

Dwindling teacher workforce in Iowa

The rhetoric preached by Iowa legislative leaders is hindering schools from attracting and retaining educators, panelists agreed.

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Educators teach kids to be critical thinkers and shape great minds that can do “anything they want,” said Colbert, of the Cedar Rapids Education Association, who was a middle school teacher for 20 years.

“That’s a huge burden we willingly take on,” Colbert said. “To live in a state where we’re constantly attacked — we get people to come here. How do we keep them, particularly teachers of color like myself?”

The work educators do is not being respected by Iowa leaders, Garlock said.

“I look back to the early days of my career when being a teacher was a very highly regarded profession,” Garlock said. “The expertise of our teachers was respected and honored. Now we are in a situation where our teachers are working harder. The work is very, very hard.”

A bill proposed by Reynolds this year — House Study Bill 119 — would loosen educational standards required to graduate. The bill did not pass this session.

“If we lessen the requirements for teaching, we’re not going to get high quality teachers,” Garlock said. “But is a teacher-less classroom the alternative?”

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com

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