Schools not thrilled with Branstad?s water quality proposal

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

Local educators are not pleased with Governor Terry Branstad?s plan to divert money from schools to fund improved water quality.

During Tuesday?s Condition of the State Address, Branstad proposed extending a one-cent school infrastructure sales tax from 2029, when it is set to expire, to 2049.

And while district insiders are pleased with the possibility of extending the penny-tax, the governor?s proposal would divert an additional sales tax growth to water quality. Something Henry County school districts are not OK with.

Ed Chabal, director of business and finance, said that he doesn?t want to sound greedy, but he would like the money to stay for its intended purpose. ?I certainly agree (the sales tax) needs to be extended before it sunsets in 2029, but I hate to see this other factor added in,? he said.

On Tuesday, Branstad claimed his plan would provide $4.7 billion for water quality through 2049. ?This is a monumental investment in both education funding and water quality and does it without raising taxes,? the governor said during his address.

?This puts together schools and water quality, and those are two different things,? said Chabal. ?I certainly understand the need and respect the water quality issues, but as far as mixing the two funds up, I would hope they could get those funds from another source.?

Winfield-Mt. Union Superintendent Jeff Maeder echoed Chabal?s sentiments. ?The issue is not that we don?t think water quality is important, but that money was originally intended for schools as a way to keep property taxes lower,? said Maeder.

Maeder continued that as enrollment continues to decline, not having the full funds from the penny-tax could result in higher property taxes down the line. State funding is dependent on enrollment numbers and Maeder says as rural school districts are continually faced with declining enrollment, it would make doing necessary projects, like building and facility updates, nearly impossible without revenue from another source. ?That would cause us to look at levying for more property taxes, which is not good for anybody,? he said.

Maeder said the two most important revenue streams for schools are allowable growth (school aid) and the penny tax.

During his address, Branstad stated his spending plan for school aid would be more than $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2017. That is a spending increase of $145 million.

Chabal said he believes the governor?s 2.45 percent increase in school aid is a good start. ?Certainly we would like more in state aid payments,? he said.

Chabal noted that contract negotiation agreements typically come in between three and four percent and the governor?s proposed increase in state aid would not completely cover the district?s increases. ?We would certainly like that to increase a little bit, even though that is better than what we had for this fiscal year.?

The House had proposed a two percent increase, while the Senate suggested four percent.

Chabal said he?s heard school aid will be decided early in the session and he hopes that holds true. ?It really puts us in a bind when we don?t get that information on a timely manner,? said Chabal.

Maeder agreed, saying getting the school aid settled in a timely manner was prudent. ?Schools have deadlines to get their budgets in. If we have to abide by those deadlines, it seems only right the legislature should have it figured out, too,? he said.

School funding is one of the first things on the docket for legislatures.