Ragan Report

Class sizes will increase if school funding falls short
Another year of inadequate state funding for K-12 schools will result in larger class sizes.
     That’s what school administrators tell us in a new survey. Superintendents, principals and other school officials completed the survey in recent weeks to help us better understand the consequences of shortchanging public schools, and to determine the impact of the governor’s veto last summer of bipartisan school funding.
     In addition to packing more students into classrooms, school leaders say underfunding schools will force them to:
     · Delay purchasing books and classroom materials (77 percent of respondents);
     · Leave positions unfilled (71 percent);
     · Delay new technology purchases (56 percent);
     · Cut back on programs that help kids learn to read (43 percent).
     An increase of at least 4 percent in basic state aid to schools is what’s needed for the next school year to avoid these types of drastic cuts, according 88 percent of school leaders who responded to the survey. Michelle Arneson, elementary principal at Nashua-Plainfield, said, “We are a small rural school district. Increased state support for education is extremely important for our district.”
     We can afford to make public schools a bipartisan priority of the Legislature again. Our state savings accounts are at a record high level of $719 million, equaling 10 percent of state budget. In addition, we expect to end the year with a surplus of $264 million.
     To view complete results from the school administrator survey, go to http://iowahouse.org/pdf/1-16schoolleader-survey-webversion.pdf.
• Upcoming public forum
     Mason City Legislative Listening Post: Feb. 6 at 10 a.m., at the Mason City Public Library, 225 2nd St. SE, Mason City.
     Sen. Amanda Ragan (D-Mason City) serves Franklin, Butler and Cerro Gordo counties in Senate District 27. She can be reached at (515) 281-3371 or (641) 424-0874. Email her at amanda.ragan@legis.iowa.gov.