Democrats distort proposed school funding increase

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. If it sounds like an Iowan and speaks like a Democrat, it’s probably repeating tired claims that Republicans are systematically destroying education in Iowa.

That argument hasn’t resonated in the way Democrats have counted on for years now. If you need proof of its failure, pop into the gallery at the Iowa State Capitol when the Legislature is in session and see the Republican supermajorities for yourself.

Surely Iowa Democrats know that they need to be better at getting their message across. But apparently being better means doing the exact same thing they’ve always done, just with more volume — and more desperation.

In practice, that means continuing to try convincing Iowans that Republicans are robbing public schools blind while lavishing heaps of money on private and parochial schools — armed with a new claim that is just flat-out misleading.

The distortion is just gross, even for the party whose members just last year took smiling selfies in the rotunda with protesters in the background yelling “Kim Reynolds, Get F***ed!”

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Leaders in the party of kindness and decency are claiming that legislative Republicans have proposed an education funding package that gives a whopping 44% increase to “vouchers for private schools” while tossing a measly 2% to public schools. They’re also warning that Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) that will eventually allow all Iowa students to choose for their portion of state per-pupil funding to be used at a private school of their choice, will cost Iowa taxpayers $1 billion in only the first four years of the program.

Without more information or context, the average person might easily think either of those things quite bad.

Add the necessary information and context, though, and it becomes apparent that legislative Democrats aren’t giving Iowans the full story in their diatribes about K-12 education funding.

Some might even say they are outright lying about it.

Leading Democrats in lying is House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst (D-Windsor Heights,) whose political rhetoric bears the same “44% vs. 2%” spin plastered all over state Democrats’ social media accounts.

Konfrst is also circulating a petition using the exact same claim that “GOP lawmakers plan to give private schools a 44% increase in state funding” to round up supporters (and probably collect their contact information for Democrats.)

Gov. Kim Reynolds pushed back on her own social media account, directly addressing Konfrst over her and Democrats’ fearmongering.

“You’re a college professor,” Reynolds wrote to Konfrst on social media site X. “You know this is misleading. Per-student ESA funding goes up the same [percent] as per-student funding for public schools.”

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That’s a key piece of the actual truth: Whether it’s an Education Savings Account that a family can use to pay tuition at an accredited private school or per-pupil funding furnished to public schools directly from the state, the amount of state funding determined by the legislature is the same for public school and nonpublic school students — period.

Allow me to restate that, since after two years and a surge of interest from students and their families, Democrats apparently still can’t admit it: EVERY STUDENT IS ALLOTTED THE SAME AMOUNT.

How, then, do legislative Democrats arrive at their claim of a 44% increase for private school “vouchers?”

One can follow the math and reach the vexing 44% figure by breaking down that billion-dollar price tag Democrats have slapped on the first four years of ESAs.

Let’s start with year one. According to the Iowa Department of Education, 16,757 students used ESAs last school year (2023-2024,) the first year ESAs were available. That year’s state per-pupil funding was $7,635, for a total of just under $128 million for ESAs.

For the current school year — the second year of the ESA program — the Iowa Department of Education reports 27,866 students are using an ESA. That’s almost a two-thirds increase from last year, prompted in part by more families becoming eligible as income limits are gradually lifted as prescribed in the 2023 school choice law.

With 27,866 students using their portion of this year’s state funding — $7,826 per student — that adds up to roughly $218 million for ESAs this year.

Onto year three: Reynolds’ recommendations for the FY 2026 budget appears to reflect ESAs being available for the first time next year to all students regardless of income per the 2023 law. The recommended budget assumes a 2.0% increase in state supplemental education funding — that’s the “2” in the “44% versus 2%” claim from Democrats. A 2% increase implies a per-pupil rate of $7,983 for the 2025-2026 school year.

The recommended budget appears to project approximately 39,415 students using ESAs. At the $7,983 per-pupil rate, that amounts to roughly $314 million for ESAs for the 2025-2026 school year, the third year of the ESA program.

The difference between this year’s $218 million and next year’s projected $314 million amounts to about a 44% increase — and just like that, we find the vexing number that Konfrst and legislative Democrats have taken and run with while simultaneously claiming public schools get only a 2% increase.

The problem, though, is that they are not comparing apples to apples. The 2% figure they cite as the paltry increase for public schools is the rate increase in what is allotted per student — without regard to the total number of students. The 44% figure attributed to “voucher” increases, on the other hand, reflects the total dollars budgeted each year.

When Democrats use two very different calculations, one shouldn’t be surprised that they end up highlighting two very different numbers. Unfortunately, Iowans end up grossly misled as a result.

What is the actual rate of increase to state aid proposed for ESAs? Just as with state funding for public schools, we don’t know yet. On Thursday, the Iowa Senate passed a 2 percent increase to state education aid. That same day, the House passed a 2.25% increase. The two chambers will need to negotiate on a final agreement before it can be signed by Gov. Reynolds.

Whatever the agreed-upon figure, the increase in per-pupil state aid will be the same for both ESAs and public schools. It must be — the backbone of the school choice law is that the per-pupil allotments are equal.

Legislative Democrats have, as I mentioned, claimed that ESAs will cost $1 billion over its first four years. The actual and projected costs for the first three years of the program plus the cost projected for the fourth year suggest that a $1 billion total is not necessarily inaccurate.

But education has been a multibillion dollar game in Iowa since long before school choice was signed into law. And no matter how one looks at it, any argument or suggestion that Iowa is spending more on ESAs for private schools than it is on public schools is just flat-out false.

This coming school year, Iowa is poised to spend roughly $314 million on ESAs for just over 39,000 students. The House Republican plan for public schools and their approximately 480,000 students totals about $3.9 billion, over 41% of the entire state general fund budget.

And that’s just over one year.

Those rough estimates suggest that Iowa public schools are receiving slightly more than ESA recipients in overall state funding per student — despite public school enrollment shrinking. Public schools are also receiving tens of millions in additional supplements. Add in local tax revenue for school districts, and public school expenditures easily top five figures per student.

Whether that is enough to meet a school district’s financial obligations is an issue that won’t be ignored. But it also won’t be solved by feeding distorted numbers to the public.

The only thing public schools are truly getting less of each year is enrollment. If Democrats’ big plan to save public schools is to mislead everyone about money, one can hardly blame students who enroll elsewhere.

Comments: 319-398-8266; althea.cole@thegazette.com