School Finance Inequities Committee meets

December 3, 2015

Jessica Harder, Director, Public Policy, attended the School Inequities Interim Committee meeting Wednesday. The committee heard presentations from groups such as the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa State School Board Association and other experts on various areas of school funding inequity in Iowa and potential solutions to fix these inequities.

Major areas of focus included inequities across school districts for transportation costs, cost-per-pupil and property tax. No single solution rose to the top during committee discussion and the tough budget situation was also raised as a factor to be considered, because many of the options presented would require additional state funds.

The committee concluded with its co-chairs, Rep. Ron Jorgensen (R-Sioux City) and Sen. Brian Schoenjahn (D-Arlington), agreeing to take summaries of the information they heard back to their caucuses to try and come up with a possible way forward with legislation addressing school funding inequities.