Branstad stands by Iowa tax, education reforms

DES MOINES - Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he plans to stand by the 2013 commitments to property tax relief and education reform when he begins putting his fiscal 2017 state budget proposal once he gets official state revenue estimates in December.

'We are committed to see that we have the resources to do that,” the governor told his weekly news conference.

However, he said he will have to wait to see how much new money is available for spending before determining whether he needs to revise the 2.45 percent boost in supplemental state aid he proposed in January for K-12 schools in fiscal 2017.

Branstad said he will have a better sense of next year's budget outlook once the state Revenue Estimating Conference meets, but he added 'education is a high priority, it's getting a growing share of the state budget (and) I anticipate it's going to continue to.”

During the 2013 session, legislators and the governor passed multiyear commitments to cut commercial property taxes across the board by 10 percent over two years and to provide targeted tax credits to businesses as a way to bring equity to the state's property tax system. A three-year commitment also was made to boost teacher compensation and leadership and make other reforms that carried a minimum $150 million price tag.

'We are confident that we have the resources to meet those commitments. They are significant commitments to additional funding,” the governor told reporters Monday.

Branstad, who last July signed a 1.25 percent increase in base K-12 education spending for the current fiscal year, has taken criticism from school administrators, education groups and legislative Democrats for vetoing a separate provision that would have provided nearly $56 million in one-time surplus funds for K-12 public districts.

'We know the state faces a very tight budget year, said Ryan Wise, director of the state Department of Education, during Monday's state budget hearings with the governor. He said he generally was seeking a status-quo budget for fiscal 2017 for much of his agency, but included some proposed increases in 'the highest priority areas where we've started to see success.”

Wise said the state's early literacy program and teacher leadership and compensation program are enjoying many successes, with all of Iowa's 336 school districts expected to participate in the teaching initiative in fiscal 2017.

'Teachers feel their voice is being heard in new and important ways. Teachers that are taking on these leadership roles feel energized, they feel empowered and this is spreading throughout their buildings to other teachers as well,” he said. 'We think this is going to have a tremendous long-term impact on student achievement and student learning.”