Branstad leaves an opening on one-time Iowa education funding

DES MOINES — Iowa's public schools will get an additional $55.7 million for the next school year if Gov. Terry Branstad decides in the coming days that the funding level is the lesser of two evils.

Branstad said at his weekly news conference Monday morning he does not approve of the way state lawmakers set school funding for the 2015-2016 year, but that he must decide whether it would be worse to reject the allocation.

'We have to make a judgment call on all things, and I've laid out my philosophy and my approach toward things. But then I also have to deal with the reality of the bills that are passed by the Legislature,' Branstad said. 'It's not a perfect world. They don't pass things, necessarily, the way I think they should. But then I have to, as the chief executive, decide what I should approve and what I don't approve. That's a judgment call.'

Branstad has until next Monday, July 6, to decide what to approve among the stacks of bills signed this year by the Legislature. Among the governor's biggest decisions is whether to approve that supplemental funding for public K-12 schools.

State lawmakers agreed to increase school funding for the 2015-2016 year by 1.25 percent. The average increase between fiscal years 2000 and 2009 was 5.1 percent; it was 1.6 percent between 2010 and 2013.

Lawmakers also agreed to supplement 2015-2016 funding with the onetime $55.7 million allocation.

Branstad, who has repeatedly said he does not believe onetime funding should be used to pay for annual expenses such as school operations and salaries, could veto the $55.7 million part of the financial package.

But he gave himself wiggle room Monday to approve the funding despite his budgeting principles.

'What you have to do is you have to balance the good and the bad,' he said. 'Maybe you've got a situation where you think, 'Certainly this is not the right policy, but failing to approve it may create a worse situation.' So that's the thing you have to balance.

'Unfortunately, sometimes it's that way: Which would be the worst? We'd prefer to have it. Which is the best? But sometimes that's not the case and you have to determine which would do the most harm and choose the path that you think would be the most appropriate under those circumstances.'

Republican lawmakers pushed for the 1.25 percent school funding increase, saying it was all the state could afford in a tight budget years. Democrats called for more funding, and the $55.7 million onetime allocation was their compromise.

One-time Iowa school funding by district (PDF) One-time Iowa school funding by district (Text)