Rep. Phil Thompson-photo courtesy of Greene Co Historical Society

The Iowa Legislature recently approved an increased percentage of funding for k-12 public education.

The House and Senate agreed on 2.3-percent increase of State Supplemental Aid for school districts, totaling $85.5 million. District 47 Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says they also included $7.65 million for transportation and $5.8 million for per pupil equity funding, for an overall total of $99 million of new education funds. Thompson believes by including transportation and per pupil equity funds, it creates a way to balance the education costs scale for all school districts.

“That’s been a giant priority for me is just finding a way to create more equity between our small schools and our schools that have booming enrollment and just getting money thrown at them. The rural transportation, I’ve seen that as a real avenue to bring some equity to our rural schools and get them their fair share of dollars that they’ve been missing out on for a lot of years.”

Thompson notes, state funding for education makes up about 43-percent of the overall budget. The legislature is supposed to decide on SSA within the first 30 days of the legislative session.