Branstad veto costs Decorah School District $155K

Governor Terry Branstad has vetoed $55.7 million in education funding for Iowa's state public school districts for the coming school year--funding that had been agreed upon by a bipartisan group of legislators.

According to Decorah Superintendent Mike Haluska, the Supplemental State Aid  funding now drops back to 1.25 percent, which amounts to roughly $118,000 for Decorah.  By vetoing the one-time $55.7 million, the loss to  the Decorah Schools is over $155,000 in supplemental state aid for FY16.  At this point the action will not have any negative effect on property taxes.  

The one-time funding would have been state funds, all dedicated to the General Fund.  This includes salaries, benefits, fuel, electricity, natural gas, textbooks, supplies, and virtually any other educational expense.

Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature had argued for months about school funding, with Republicans wanting a 1.25 percent increase and Democrats wanting a 4 percent increase.  A compromise reached last month set school funding at a 2.62 percent increase--but only 1.25 percent was in recurring base funding.  The difference was made up from an additional one-time allotment of $55.7 million.  Branstad vetoed the compromise because he said he did not believe in one-time funding for school aid.