School funding proposal worries local superintendents

Local school administrators fear a funding proposal in the Iowa Legislature will lead to program reductions, staff cuts and increased property taxes if it gets approved by lawmakers this spring.
Hampton-Dumont Superintendent Todd Lettow and CAL Superintendent Dwight Widen have criticized a plan that would increase state supplemental aide by 1.25 percent in 2015-16 and 2.45 percent in 2016-17. The two-year budget was proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad and supported by the Republican-held House, but staunch opposition from Democrats and school administrators has dogged it since January.
Democrats countered the proposal with a plan that would increase supplemental state aid by 4 percent each of the next two years. However, the Legislature has fallen into gridlock over the funding dispute, leaving school districts in limbo as they plan next year’s budget.
Read the full article in the March 11 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.