Iowa House Republicans approved a 2% increase for K-12 per-pupil funding Tuesday, sending the bill to the governor’s desk for her signature nearly two months after the deadline to decide education funding.
The state’s spending on per-pupil school funding will increase by $162 to nearly $7,988 per student for public schools, charter schools and education savings accounts for private school tuition.
The House GOP proposed a 2.25% increase plus additional funds, but they ultimately agreed to the 2% increase proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Republicans. The final bill included an additional $5 million for things like transportation and operational sharing.
Rep. Dan Gehlbach, R-Urbandale, said the plan isn’t everything the House wanted, but he was proud they fought for more funding.
“Under Republican leadership in Iowa, we’ve delivered responsible and sustainable increases to education year after year, with a focus on stability and student success,” he said.
Democrats criticized the funding plan as being too little, too late. Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, said the 2% increase isn’t enough to keep up with rising costs and to help public schools thrive.
“It will not set us on a path to being number one in education again,” she said. “It keeps our public schools in survival mode. It simply doesn’t get us where we need to go.”
Gehlbach said the increase amounts to $105.9 million in new money for public schools.
Senate Republicans said the total increase for public schools is $127.8 million, with $105.9 million coming from the state general fund and $21.9 million from a reserve fund.
They said adding the nearly $97 million increase for private school students and $14.5 million increase for charter schools brings the total new spending on K-12 education to about $240 million.
For the next school year, the total cost of education savings accounts is expected to be about $315 million, as the income cap for participants will be removed. Total K-12 state spending under the bill that passed Tuesday would be about $4.2 billion, according to Senate Republicans.
Joshua Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said a 2% increase jeopardizes students' opportunities. He said a 5% increase is needed to have manageable class sizes and recruit and retain teachers and support staff.
"If state leaders believe that spending more than $1 billion over the next three years on private school vouchers, which serve only a fraction of our students, is a good idea, then increasing funding for the majority of our students in public schools should also be their priority," Brown said.
Editor's note: This story was corrected on April 11, 2025 to reflect that the bill was passed nearly two months past the deadline for deciding education funding. A previous version of the story incorrectly said it was more than two months past the deadline.
