Senate Democrats boost higher education funding by nearly $40 million

DES MOINES - A Senate budget panel Wednesday approved a higher education spending plan that would increase funding by nearly $40 million to state universities, community colleges, workforce development, and other programs did not include money for a performance-based redistribution formula at regent institutions.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 13-6 to approve a $1.026 billion education budget in fiscal 2016 that would provide an extra $16.64 million for regent institutions to fund operations and freeze tuition for instate undergraduates for a third straight year, increase base operations for Iowa's community colleges by $8 million, and continue funding for education reforms, workforce training and tuition grants for Iowa students attending private colleges.

'I believe it targets the areas that are most important to all Iowans,” said Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, co-leader of the House-Senate education budget subcommittee. Provisions of Senate Study Bill 1277 would decrease the number of full-time employees in the education budget area by 250 – funding 12,048 positions.

Within the regents' proposed $599.9 million allotment for next fiscal year, University of Iowa operations would increase by $4.04 million to $234.96 million, up 1.8 percent; Iowa State University operations would increase by $5.24 million to $186.2 million, up 2.9 percent; and University of Northern Iowa operations would increase by $7 million to $98.2 million, up 7.8 percent. Schoenjahn said the higher ISU level would cover increased enrollment at the Ames campus, while UNI's increase would address funding disparities at a Cedar Falls campus populated primarily by in-state students.

Schoenjahn said the Senate Democrats' budget bill is roughly the same level as proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad, but nearly $48 million below the fiscal 2016 spending targets issued Tuesday by majority House Republicans. He said work is under way to reconcile the differences but meeting House GOP targets would require him to cut the Senate proposal by 5 percent for each line item.

'That would be absolutely devastating. It would be devastating to our regent universities, it would be devastating to our community colleges, it would result in huge tuition increases for our families and our kids and grandkids,” said Schoenjahn. It also would undercut partnerships that have been developed by private businesses and community colleges to address workforce shortages.

Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, one of the six GOP no votes, said he agrees with the House Republican stance that the state should not spend more than the estimated $7.175 billion that will be collected in state taxes next fiscal year and should not use one-time surplus money to finance ongoing expenses.

'We've got conflicting values that we're going to have to reconcile,” Garrett said.

Schoenjahn said the GOP premise is flawed because the surplus ending balance is a 'revolving fund” that is built into the state's spending limitation law. 'In my opinion, that is an artificial line. It is not in state law,” he said.

Schoenjahn noted that Senate Democrats generally are in agreement with the governor's budgeting approach, but he noted Branstad proposed a 1.8 percent across-the-board funding increase at the three state universities and underfunded a performance-based redistribution formula by only including $4 million.

'We take that $4 million and move it to UNI,” the Arlington Democrat said. 'If there would have been $12 million in there in the governor's budget, we would have said OK this needs to be part of the package. The fact that it was underfunded and we have the glaring needs at the regent institutions, especially Northern Iowa and Iowa State, that's where we felt the priority should be.”