The State Supplemental Aid traveled through all the channels and was approved at an increased rate of 3-percent by Governor Kim Reynolds.
Senator for District 14 Sarah Trone-Garriott says that the 3-percent increase is far behind the steady increase of cost of inflation. The Democrat from West Des Moines explains that even with the increase, schools will have to continue to cut programs, services and staff because many schools are seeing their enrollment drop.
“72 school districts in the state of Iowa are going to get less this year than they did last year with the 3% because they’ve got some declining enrollment. But even if you lose five kids from your district, I mean, that’s a teacher’s salary that you’re going to be missing out on, that you’re going to have to cut.”
Trone-Garriott proposed the right increase would be closer to 10-percent increase in SSA funding. The bill signed into law would boost the per pupil funding by $222. Republicans have backed the SSA increase praising their commitment to public education by increasing the funding by 1.19 billion since 2012.