Governor Kim Reynolds proposed an increase of funding for public schools in her Condition of the State Address earlier this month.

Reynolds advocated to increase the State Supplemental Aid (SSA) for k-12 public schools by $83 million or 2.5-percent. Superintendent Clark Wicks says that this proposed rate would add another $110 per student which helps but doesn’t satisfy the needs of public schools like Perry. 

“Better than zero percent, that’s for sure. 2.5(-percent) does not help to attract and retain teachers. It gets us by with just the general increase of prices with a number of things. So it’s not a game changer by any means, but it’s interesting that a billion dollars goes this way and then a meager 2.5-percent goes to public schools.”

Wicks says the increase is concerning when public schools serve over 90-percent of the students in Iowa and inflation keeps rising. The Iowa Legislature is required to set the SSA for public schools within the first 30 days of the legislative session.