Weekly Update from Representative Vander Linden

Rep. Guy Vander Linden (R)

Resolution on Education Funding

Schools will finally have certainty to approve their budgets as agreement has been reached on next school year’s education funding.

This agreement will provide local K-12 schools with an additional $153.8 million. This represents 87% of new spending in this year’s budget.

Under Republican leadership in the House, this will be the sixth year in a row that schools receive a funding increase. More importantly, schools can depend on the funding that the Legislature is providing.

Democrats have claimed year after year that schools will be forced to lay off teachers as a result of funding provided by the Legislature. These words ring hollow when you look at the data, which shows that the number of full-time teachers in Iowa classrooms has increased by 809 over the last four school years.

Under a House Republican majority, ongoing funding for education has increased by $660 million. House Republicans have also provided additional funding totaling $106 million for other purposes including the final phase of the Teacher Leadership program.