Sen. Tom Rielly’s March 22 Column
Iowa Senator Tom Rielly (D)
On March 19, the Iowa Senate voted to increase support for our local schools, keep college tuition affordable and fill openings for skilled jobs that are currently available. These kinds of efforts will help put local Iowans back to work and grow our economy.
House File 2245, as amended by the Senate, provides a 4 percent increase in basic state aid to local K-12 schools for the 2013-2014 school year.
The legislation follows Iowa’s 40-year-old law requiring us to set basic level of state aid two years in advance for our local schools. This money pays for textbooks, heating and lights for classrooms, technology and other necessities required for students and teachers to be successful.
This amended version of HF 2245 now returns to the Iowa House for its further consideration.
To address our state’s shortage of skilled workers, which business leaders say is the number one problem hampering Iowa’s economic growth, our Education Budget (Senate File 2321) takes successful community college projects statewide. The new initiative helps unskilled or under-skilled workers earn industry-recognized certificates in welding, direct care and other fields needed by local businesses.
I’ve met unemployed Iowans who earned a certificate at their local community college and then filled a job opening that a local business had been unable to fill for months. That’s a “win-win” for Iowa families and for hundreds of Iowa businesses.
SF 2321 also increases state support to public universities by $34 million, including funds to help Iowa businesses launch and grow. I’ll work closely with Governor Branstad to ensure the House doesn’t make drastic cuts to our state universities.
Other highlights of our Education Budget include:
** Keeping community college tuition affordable with a $25 million increase in state support.
** Investing $20 million for worker training in fields with a shortage of skilled workers.
** Maintaining strong support for returning soldiers through the National Guard Education Assistance program.
** A $500,000 increase in funding for local libraries, which are essential community information resources.
** A $300,000 increase in funding to Iowa Public Television, an integral education tool for our schools and an important part of lifelong learning for many Iowans.
