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The Iowa Senate has passed a K-twelve school funding deal nearly three weeks after a deadline passed for establishing the funding increase.
It would give a 2.3 percent increase or about 85-million new dollars for base per-student public school funding. Republicans in the Senate first proposed a 2.1 percent increase, and the House and the governor proposed 2.5 percent.
Democratic Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames says it’s too little too late, and the state can afford to do more.
“The amount proposed here, whether it’s 2.1 or 2.3 or 2.5, would not be sufficient to make up for losses due to inflation.”
Senate Republicans say the 2.3 percent increase is a promise the state can definitely keep. And they say they’ve done a lot for school funding and to fix specific issues brought forth by schools.
A Sioux City teacher has announced his candidacy for an open Woodbury County Board of Supervisors position that will be determined in an April special election.
Justin Wright, a 10-year educator who teaches at North High School, today announced his candidacy as a Republican running for the county supervisors District 2 seat.
The position is open because former Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor resigned his District 2 seat after residency questions that prompted the county's top elections official to revoke Taylor's voter registration.
Sioux City Democratic state Rep. Tim Kacena says he is running for the District 2 seat as well. Kacena, who represents a House district that covers portions of the city's west and north sides, announced on Jan. 29 he would not seek re-election this year.
The person who wins the special election will fill out the rest of that four-year term, which runs through the end of 2022.
