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The Gruenhagen Gazette: Education bills set state aid funding at $7,988 per pupil
by Kerry Gruenhagen, Iowa Senate District 4 · Op-Ed · April 16, 2025
During the 13th week of the legislative session, lawmakers focused on debating bills that made it past the final legislative deadline.
With just one month remaining, the focus now turns to passing Iowa’s state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
A major milestone was reached with the passage of Senate File 167 by both the House and Senate, which sets K–12 education funding for the next year.
The bill allocates an additional $240 million to Iowa schools, bringing total general fund support to over $4.2 billion.
This amounts to $7,988 per student and includes the second year of the teacher pay increase passed last session, keeping Iowa teachers among the top ten highest paid in the nation.
This investment continues a trend of responsible, sustainable funding for education.
Alongside education funding, Senate Republicans announced a budget target of $9.411 billion for Fiscal Year 2026.
This is a 5.2% increase over the previous year.
This budget will be the first full year under Iowa’s new 3.8% flat income tax.
The target reflects a commitment to conservative budgeting while still investing in the state’s priorities.
The Senate also passed House File 784, known as the Governor’s Math Counts Act.
This legislation requires school districts to assess math proficiency for all K–6 students at least three times per school year.
The goal is to better identify students who may be falling behind and provide them with targeted, personalized instruction.
The bill also offers resources for teachers, teacher prep students, parents, and schools to help improve math outcomes statewide.
In March, Republicans introduced a historic property tax reform proposal aimed at creating a more transparent and manageable system for taxpayers, local governments, and businesses.
This week, the proposal was updated based on input from Iowans, local officials, and other stakeholders.
Senate Study Bill 1227 includes significant changes, such as increasing the homestead exemption to $50,000, immediately removing the rollback for all property classifications except agriculture, and adding a consumer price index (CPI) adjustment alongside the 2% revenue cap to account for inflation.
The bill also includes provisions to support smaller communities in the budgeting process.
These updates come in response to growing concerns from Iowans about rising property tax assessments and the affordability of staying in their homes.
A study released by the Common Sense Institute highlighted that from 2000 to 2024, property taxes in Iowa increased by 170%, compared to 73% inflation over the same period.
The study warned that unless annual property tax growth is kept below 2.3%, Iowa could remain among the more burdensome states for local taxes.
With this proposal, lawmakers aim to provide real relief to homeowners, ensure responsible local spending, and make Iowa a more competitive and stable place to live and do business.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out!
To contact Senator Gruenhagen during the week, call the Senate Switchboard at 515-281-3371. E-mail him at kerry.gruenhagen@legis.iowa.gov. Gruenhagen serves on the following committees: Government Oversight Committee; Commerce; Education; Technology; Transportation; and Ways and Means.
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