The number of Iowans applying for an Educational Savings Account under Iowa’s new school voucher program has surpassed projections, raising questions on the costs to state taxpayers and local school districts.
The voucher program—called the Students First Education Savings Accounts provides applicants with $7,635 in taxpayer funds toward a private school education. The program had 16,757 certified participants this past year, which comes out to $127,939,695 in taxpayer funds going to the state’s private schools. The original Iowa estimates for the voucher program were $106.9 million in year one, $21 million over projections.
Not surprisingly, a majority of the vouchers went to the 10 largest counties in the state, but a number of vouchers were also approved locally. Washington County had 140 vouchers approved. Jefferson 112, Wapello 111, Henry 20, and Van Buren County had just 2 vouchers approved
As of Friday, the Iowa Department of Education says it has received 15,538 applications for next school year. The application period runs through June 30th, meaning the number of applications will likely continue to grow.