On Tuesday, the Iowa Senate held its first day of debate of the 2026 legislative session, and the big focus of the day was school funding.
Republicans put forth SF 2201, setting the annual increase for public school funding at 1.75%. This translates into just $21.2 million in new state funding for school districts around the state.
Most Iowa taxpayers will be furious to hear that 208 Iowa school districts (including Des Moines, Johnston, and West Des Moines schools) will not receive an increase in funding due to fewer students enrolled in the districts and the anemic increase in funding.
For those of you tracking the amount of taxpayer dollars going out the door in private school vouchers since Republicans started the program, here are the numbers:
FY 24 $128 Million
FY 25 $218 Million
FY 26 $328 Million
TOTAL $674 Million
Estimated FY 27 $348 Million (estimated at 1.75% increase)
EST. TOTAL $1.02 Billion
Even as the State of Iowa faces a budget deficit of more than $1.2 billion, Republicans are continuing to fund their private school voucher program with virtually no oversight on how Iowans’ tax dollars are being spent. Meanwhile, Iowa’s public school students are paying the price with underfunded schools.
After several hours of debate, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 28-20 – three Republicans joined every Democrat in voting NO.
The bill now moves to the House for consideration. I will keep you updated on its progress.
This is what she said Republicans are continuing to fund their private school voucher program with virtually no oversight on how Iowans’ tax dollars are being spent. I don’t believe any of it as this money is producing better results than any public school system . The public school system is a black hole money goes in to and disappears,sure would like to see how much the teachers union donated to her campaign!