Chronicle Editorial

By: 
Chronicle Staff

Too much of a good thing
     The Des Moines Register published an investigative report early this week about the state of legislative funding towards Iowa schools.
     Since 2008, funding for schools has been tight, with either continually less or stagnant funding coming from the state, while enrollment numbers don’t appear to be declining with those funds.
     For several years, the state has been distributing funding to schools with specific rules on what can be done with the money.
     The state sends money to a school district’s general fund account, which is used for anything from paying teachers, to making repairs to the building. Within that general fund account are those “earmarked” dollars, which the state says can only be used for specific purchases like ELL programs, special education programs, professional development programs, etc.
     According to the Register, school districts are sitting on more than approximately $140 million in earmarked funds, which cannot be used to supplement other troubled budget items. And those that are earmarked, for instance, homeschool programs, can only be used on materials and teacher resources, not on a building to house those teachers or programs.
     For one district in our coverage area, CAL — a district in financial turbulence as it decides what to do with its grades — has plenty of money in earmarked dollars, but cannot use that money it so desperately needs to cover other areas of the school system.
     While the intent of the dollars is to convince schools to build programs that the state finds favorable, schools, in the end, are only what their students are. Some districts don’t need as much money for specific items because their enrollment doesn’t call for it. But the state continues giving the district funding for fairness, while the district can still fail at keep standard operations ongoing.
     School districts are raising the issue, but there doesn’t seem to be a method or plan of action on this untouchable money that some school systems desperately need. While special programs are important to schools, these programs do nothing if the school cannot maintain its basic functions: provide classrooms, teachers, transportation and a safe and up-to-date place to learn. 

Hampton Chronicle

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Hampton, IA 50441
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