The weekslong stalemate by Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature on whether to give K-12 schools a 2 or 2.25 percent increase in state aid was resolved Tuesday, with lawmakers going with the lesser amount.
The Iowa Senate passed a measure for 2 percent funding on Monday, then the Iowa House also backed that amount this morning.
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley for weeks had pushed for the 2.25 percent amount.
The school funding now goes to Governor Kim Reynolds for approval, which is almost two months after the required deadline for finalizing the K-12 funding decision.
Many Iowa school boards will vote to finalize their 2025-26 year budgets over the next two weeks.
The package of more than $4 billion gives Iowa K-12 schools $240 million more than this year. Iowa's per-pupil school funding will increase by $162 to nearly $8,000 per student. That also applies to the state’s education savings accounts that go to families with children attending private schools.
Republican state Senator Lynn Evans of Aurelia said this a defensible package for students who attend all schools in Iowa.
Democratic Senator Molly Donahue of Cedar Rapids says that’s not enough, asserting that school districts will have to raise property taxes to make up for any budget shortfalls.
*Also in the Iowa Legislature Republicans in the state Senate passed a bill Monday that aims to strengthen checks of voters’ citizenship status.
It would allow the state to contract with federal, state and private entities to help verify the eligibility of voters. And poll workers could question voters about their citizenship status if their vote is challenged on that basis.
Democratic Senator Matt Blake of Urbandale says that could prevent some eligible voters from voting.
“What this can do, and if weaponized in particular ways, is people might look and see everybody that doesn’t sound like me, everybody that doesn’t look like me, may be challenged every time they walk into the poll,” Blake said.
Republicans say the bill will help ensure noncitizens aren’t voting in Iowa’s elections.
The bill would also create a higher threshold for political parties to earn major party status. It’s now on its way to the governor’s desk for her signature.
*An Iowa proposal to ban cellphones in schools during instructional time is one step closer to becoming law.
The bill has now cleared both the Senate and the House, after Tuesday voting.
Schools could have tougher restrictions, but the bill sets at least a minimum ban on cellphone use during instructional time. There would be exceptions for students who receive accommodations or have special education plans.
The governor said in a statement after the vote that schools with similar policies in place have already seen positive results. She says students deserve to learn free from disruptions and she looks forward to signing the bill.
If signed into law, school districts would have to implement the ban in time for the next school year.
*Additionally, a well-known “Welcome to Sioux City” sign that for decades greeted people entering the downtown area from the south is getting a new home.
The large sign was first erected in 1941 on the Iowa Public Service facility, now known as MidAmerican Energy. An agreement announced in a Monday release said the new owners of the iconic sign are Skip and Cathy Perley, who plan to refurbish it and place it in a prominent place to be determined in Sioux City.
The Perleys plan to pinpoint that spot, and install the sign by spring 2026 at the latest.
The Perleys started negotiating with MidAmerican officials once that utility facility moved as part of a consolidation, during an Interstate 29 modernization.
“None of this would be possible without MidAmerican’s construction and maintenance of this sign for more than six decades,” Perley said.
