As the two legislative chambers of Iowa continue their work in Des Moines, the spotlight has again fallen on the State Supplemental Aid (SSA) Program for K-12 public education. A bill that was passed by the Iowa Senate in February funded a 2% increase or $152 per pupil from $7635 to $7787. A measure introduced in the Iowa House set the number at 2.25% or $190 per student to $7825. Neither of those numbers is enough to keep many local districts off the state’s budget guarantee list, which ensures that a district will be funded up to 101% of their budget the previous year, despite SSA not meeting budget needs. The budget guarantee funds are raised through means such as property tax increases. One of the local districts on the list is Washington. Superintendent Willie Stone talked this week with KCII News about what the proposed SSA numbers mean for his district and residents, “Since the SSA is so low, anytime you’re on the budget guarantee, that is actually property tax dollars, that’s how that’s paid for. By SSA coming in low, it will automatically raise property taxes. I have talked with Representative Hora and Senator Driscoll, I know Senator Driscoll didn’t vote for the 2% the Senate had because she said it wasn’t enough. Representative Hora brought the 2.25%, which was better than the 2%. I’m glad we got the 2.25%. Would I want more for our kids? Yes, I would!”

There are 146 districts in the state included in the budget guarantee list as of February 2025 including local schools Mid-Prairie, Highland, Lone Tree, Winfield-Mt. Union, and Keota. The School Administrators of Iowa are advocating for an increase of at least 5%, or $381 per student, to outpace inflation and impact of increased supplies and labor.   

Work continues in both chambers to finalize SSA for the upcoming school year.