A debate over funding for K-12 education in the Iowa Senate included claims that many schools could be forced to cut their literacy programs. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, cited the results of a survey that Democratic lawmakers sent to school superintendents. It asked how they would respond if the legislature failed to provide a “decent increase” in school aid…
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Democrats, who control the Senate, pushed through a bill that would boost K-12 aid by four-percent for the 2017-18 academic year. Quirmbach said that level of an increase is needed to keep Iowa students from falling behind their peers in other states.
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Senator Julian Garrett was shocked by Quirmbach’s remarks. The Republican from Indianola said school leaders, if necessary, should be able to find many other areas to make budget cuts….
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The House and Senate have still not settled on the level of school funding for next year. Tuesday’s debate in the Senate was over K-12 funding for the FOLLOWING school year, starting in the fall of 2017.
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