Wednesday Senate Republicans released their education funding proposal for FY 2021.
“This proposal will provide $91.7 million in new funding for K-12 education. The total increase in K-12 funding will be more than 300 million new dollars since FY 2017. That record stands in stark contrast to the days of overpromising and underdelivering during Democrat control of state government. They promised hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending only to cut K-12 funding by $65 million,” said Senator Jack Whitver, R – Ankeny. “Senate Republicans have fully funded every K-12 education funding promise we have made each year in the majority.”
“Funding proposed this year will complete our promise to eliminate the disparity in education funding for schools with transportation costs higher than the statewide average,” said Senator Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton. “We began this process in the first year of the majority and we have kept our word to rural districts to get them on equal footing with those districts with lower transportation costs. It also addresses one of the most pressing issues in K-12 education by addressing violent student behavior in the classroom.”
This amount of funding demonstrates a commitment to education. It is responsible and sustainable and it demonstrates that education is a top priority of Senate Republicans. Senate Republicans education proposals provide a $75.7 million increase in supplemental state aid, $7.7 million in new funding for transportation inequity, $5.8 million to address per pupil inequity, and $2.5 million to address violent student behavior (SSB 3080) for a total of $91.7 million.
Predictable, responsible, sustainable funding for Iowa schools has yielded results. Iowa students are #1 in high school graduation rate, #1 in concurrent enrollment and #1 in average ACT scores
