William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

The Iowa Senate, voting along straight party lines, is supporting a 4 percent increase in state funding for pre-kindergarten-through-12th grade schools for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Senate Files 2092 and 2093, which would both provide state money for education, were approved Tuesday with 26 Democrats in favor and 24 Republicans in opposition. The Republican-led Iowa House has not voted on school funding for the 2017-2018 school year, and it's not clear whether the issue will be resolved by both chambers before this year's session adjourns.

The Iowa House and Senate are already stalemated on school funding for the 2016-2017 academic year with the Senate backing a 4 percent increase and the House favoring a 2 percent spending increase. The issue faces debate in a House-Senate conference committee.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, chairman of the Iowa Senate Education Committee, warned that state funding for Iowa's schools is stagnating and that Iowa students are falling in national rankings showing how they match up academically with pupils in other states. Without a "decent increase" in school aid, class sizes will increase, schools will be forced to forgo purchases of new textbooks, and schools will be forced to cut back on literacy programs, he said.

But Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, expressed concern about Quirmbach's remarks.

"I cannot imagine schools saying reading is not a priority for us. If that is a basis for this proposal, count me out. I am voting no," Garrett said.

Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, said she agrees school funding should be addressed in a timely manner. But she suggested that lawmakers should determine education spending for the coming school year before the make any decisions about the following year.

"I am being asked to vote on a number that doesn't exist," because the 4 percent approved Tuesday would use the prior year's funding as a base, Sinclair said. She cautioned lawmakers against "overpromising and underfunding," and suggested unwise decisions could hurt property taxpayers if there isn't sufficient state funding for property tax relief or property tax credits.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, offered an amendment aimed at providing more flexibility for school boards in spending state money, but his proposal was not voted on after being ruled not germane to a single-subject state funding bill.