There was an angry debate in the Iowa House Education Committee.

Republicans and Democrats remain locked into their positions on how much to spend on K-12 schools next year.  

Republicans say the state can’t afford the 4% increase approved by Senate Democrats.    Republican Greg Forristall hit a nerve when he called for a salary freeze for teachers.

“The federal government is telling us that farmers will make 30% less in this coming year,” says Forristall. “Maybe this is the year that teachers could accept last year's salary.”

Democratic Representative Sharon Steckman doesn’t agree. “Asking teachers to accept last year’s salaries, I find quite interesting because there are places in our state budget that we haven’t even talked about cutting,” says Steckman.  She also charges that Republicans are trying to get rid of public education. 

Forristall is calling Steckman’s comment a violation of the house rule of questioning the motives of a fellow lawmaker.    The Committee voted to scale back the Senate bill to a 1.25% increase for K-12 schools.