In Des Moines, administrators are keeping about 150 positions frozen while they wait for the Legislature's final decision. In Cedar Rapids, educators say the budget mess could result in layoffs a year from now. Republicans, however, note that the Legislature has exempted school aid promised next year from the budget knife. The Iowa House and Senate also voted to increase spending on each public school student by 4 percent during the 2002-2003 school year. Not all school districts will get more money as a result of the school aid increase.
State aid is distributed per pupil, which means less money for districts with declining enrollments.
The bill returns to the Iowa House for more debate. Sen. Nancy Boettger, a Harlan Republican, said lawmakers had heard from schools that might have been forced to send pink slips if the legislation had not been approved. Twyla Woods, human resources director for the Des Moines school district, wishes the Legislature would have moved more quickly on its other promises. Without answers from the Legislature, the district is uncertain about its financial picture, preventing it from filling dozens of positions. We're going to lose our window of opportunity to secure the brightest and best.