To: The Iowa State House and The Iowa State Senate
Invest NOW in Iowa's Future: Our Students
Iowa children are the future of our workforce, and will be the drivers of Iowa’s economy for years to come. A commitment to education should be an easy way to attract and retain families in our great state. Currently, state leadership is proposing a 1.25% increase to state education funding per pupil. We ask the state leadership to reconsider and make a more appropriate allocation by passing at least a 4% increase in state funding per pupil, consistent with the level being proposed by the Iowa Senate.
Why is this important?
Historically, Iowa’s leaders have placed high priority on educating our children. The funding increases from year to year of greater than 10% allowed Iowa students to thrive, and our state to proudly claim the top spot for quality of education.
However, today Iowa ranks 35th in the nation in terms of funding per pupil. Unfortunately, there are members in both our state government and state Legislature who believe the 35th spot is satisfactory, and they stubbornly stand by the proposed 1.25% increase in per pupil spending for the upcoming school year. This meager increase is well below general inflation, and will not even allow Iowa districts to provide education at the same level they are at this year, let alone permit schools to make the necessary annual investment needed to bring the quality of education in Iowa to back near the top.
There is no better investment than in the young minds of our future leaders.
For more information read: http://www.uen-ia.org/attachments/call%20to%20action/Call%20to%20Action%20School%20Funding%20Mar%206%202015.pdf