Branstad signs Aug. 23 school start date into law

DES MOINES - Classes at Iowa's K-12 public schools may start no sooner than Aug. 23 under a new law signed Friday by Gov. Terry Branstad.

The law goes into effect immediately.

The new law will affect the vast majority of Iowa districts. This school year, only 14 out of 338 districts started after Aug. 23.

After a signing ceremony at the Iowa Capitol, Branstad hailed the Aug. 23 start date as a compromise between schools that wanted complete control over their start dates and tourism businesses that wanted a start date closer to or even after Labor Day.

'This bill, I think, was a fair compromise,” Branstad said. 'It's been a contentious issue for over 30 years.”

The school start date issue intensified when, in December, Branstad announced the State Department of Education would more strictly enforce the law that said schools must start no earlier than the week that includes Sept. 1.

That law contained a waiver process for schools that wanted to start earlier, and most sought a waiver. The Education Department routinely granted those waivers. There is no waiver in the new law.

Two bills worked their way through the Legislature: one that gave complete scheduling control to districts, and the one that Branstad signed Friday.

'We were very much in support of local control. I think our stance on wanting something to be more local control doesn't change,” said Tammy Wawro, president of the Iowa State Education Association. 'But at this point, we're ready to move on and continue the discussion about what's important. And what's been important all along is school funding.”

State lawmakers remain divided along party lines on how much state money to invest in public K-through-12 education education. Democrats are calling for a 2.625 percent funding increase, down from previous proposals of 6 percent and 4 percent. Republicans are holding firm to their proposal for a 1.25 percent increase, saying that's all the state budget can afford.The school start date was a compromise, Wawro said, and she wishes Republicans 'would compromise on other things.”

Branstad said Republicans' proposal represents more responsible budgeting. Democrats said they think there is room in the budget to provide more school funding.

'My understanding is the Democrats want to spend more, but they aren't going to say where they're going to cut in order to come up with that additional money,” Branstad said. 'So I guess my recommendation to them is, if they want Republicans to provide more money in that area, then they need to say where they're willing to cut in order to keep the budget balanced.”