Capitol Update - February 7, 2025

UEN Update - Bill Tracker & House School Funding Proposal
Email to UEN Members - February 7, 2025

Greetings UEN School Leaders:
First, we have updated and posted the latest UEN Bill Tracker, which shows the state of all legislation we are following for you. If you have any questions about our registration of support/undecided/oppose/watching, don't hesitate to reach out and talk about it.
 
Second, the House Appropriations Committee has a school funding proposal that was introduced yesterday afternoon, a subcommittee scheduled for 1pm on Monday, followed by the House Appropriations Committee meeting at 1:30pm which includes HSB138 on SSA. UEN will register in support since the total amount of funding exceeds the current inflation rate, which is a benchmark in your funding priority. Encourage your representatives to support the House plan and let your Senators know that they should also support it. Details of the bill include:

• Sets a 2.25% increase in SSA per pupil.
• Increases the State Cost Per Pupil base by $10, to close the gap in SCPP and District Cost per Pupil, narrowing the current $140 difference to $130. For those districts above with higher DCPP, the $10 will provide property tax relief.
• Raises the Operational Sharing Cap from 21 to 25 pupils.
• Increases the appropriation to the Transportation Equity Fund so the total amount appropriated to make all equity aid payments covers the shortfall to get to the statewide average.
• Includes a supplement of $22,591,274 for use by school districts for any general fund purpose, considered as miscellaneous income. The funding is prorated per pupil to school districts and is effective for the July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 school year (one-time, not ongoing).

 
Third, ISFIS has updated the ISFIS New Authority/New Money Calculator and added an option for 2.25% SSA to the drop-down. (You will need to type in your certified enrollment in cell F11 where highlighted.) This will calculate the impact on your district, including Budget Guarantee, if any.
 
Have a great weekend!

Contact Us:

Margaret Buckton
UEN Executive Director
margaret@iowaschoolfinance.com
515.201.3755 Cell