Des Moines, IA (Nov. 18, 2009) – Representatives from nearly every school district in the state, including representatives from the Belle Plaine Board of Education, voted on the 2010 legislative priorities Wednesday at the Iowa Association of School Boards’ Delegate Assembly. They voted to focus on only one main priority this year, as opposed to four or five, to drive home the importance of maintaining adequate funding for schools during this difficult budget year.
The priority of the Iowa Association of School Boards and its members is to: • Support setting allowable growth at a rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts and AEAs.
“Our priority is to increase and maintain the state cost per pupil and the spending authority associated with it to build a strong base for future education resources. IASB will also work on a number of other issues on behalf of members this session, but this is the official priority set by the Delegate Assembly. By setting this one priority, we send a strong message to the Legislature allowable growth is the most critical issue for schools this year,” said Russ Wiesley of Waukee, IASB president-elect and chairman of the IASB Legislative Resolutions Committee.
The Delegate Assembly also discussed many other issues around school funding. They decided to advocate that the UNI Lab School should not be funded by K-12 dollars but instead by the Iowa State Board of Regents, as it has been historically funded until a law change last year. Members also voted to support school districts being more involved in approving tax increment finance districts (TIFs) so as to preserve property tax authority and education funding.
IASB is a private, nonprofit organization representing Iowa’s 361 school districts, 10 area education agencies and 15 community colleges. # # # #