DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on education funding moving through the Iowa Legislature (all times local):
7:05 p.m.
Republicans in the Iowa Senate have approved $46 million in new funding for K-12 education for the upcoming budget year.
The GOP-controlled chamber voted 29-21 Wednesday night for the measure. It must now bounce back to the Republican-controlled House, which voted 57-40 Wednesday morning for $32 million in new funding. Lawmakers will need to agree on a total before it can reach Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk.
The Senate approved an extra $14 million for various transportation expenses and to close some inequity in cost-per-pupil spending across school districts.
The $32 million that both chambers appear to agree on is a 1 percent increase to Iowa's $3.2 billion K-12 education budget.
Officials in the Des Moines school district, the state's largest, say it will lead to more than $11 million in cuts. In more rural school districts, superintendents warned financial obligations like putting new money toward employee retirement plans will eat up a lot of the new appropriations.
Republicans say public education is a priority at the Capitol amid budget constraints.
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1:50 p.m.
Some school superintendents in Iowa say a K-12 education spending plan moving through the Legislature will not keep up with rising annual costs for their districts and will lead to budget cuts.
Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled chambers scheduled floor votes Wednesday to approve $32 million in new funding. That's a 1 percent increase to Iowa's $3.2 billion K-12 education budget, the largest expenditure in a roughly $7.2 billion state budget.
Officials in the Des Moines school district, the state's largest, say it will lead to more than $11 million in cuts. In more rural school districts, superintendents warned financial obligations like putting new money toward employee retirement plans will eat up a lot of the new appropriations.
Republicans say public education is a priority at the Capitol amid budget constraints.