The Iowa House Appropriations Committee moved ahead amended legislation Tuesday that would increase state funding for community colleges but not state universities. (Photo courtesy of Kirkwood Community College)
Iowa community colleges would get an increase in state funds next year but state universities would not under a budget agreement between House and Senate Republicans.
Budget lines in proposed Iowa House legislation for primary and secondary education programs across Iowa have shifted after negotiation with the other chamber, said Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, in an appropriations committee meeting Thursday.
Harris introduced an amendment to House Study Bill 337, setting the budget for Iowa Department of Education, state universities, community colleges and other education programs across the state. Numbers from the amendment reflect what was decided upon after negotiations with the Iowa Senate, he said.
Rather than decrease funding for universities governed by the Iowa Board of Regents, as was proposed in the original version of the bill, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University would receive flat funding for the upcoming fiscal year.
Community colleges would see a $7.5 million increase in funding with the amended legislation, which Harris said was “about $7.5 million more than what the Senate initially wanted to do.”
Senate legislation for education appropriations would keep funding flat for community colleges, compared to the original House bill, which would have provided an additional $8 million for the system.
Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said she would not vote in favor of the amendment, as the “education subgroup on the amendment” preferred the previous proposed IJAG funding and had concerns about flat university funding causing families to have to pay more due to tuition increases.
She added she and others are worried about cuts to special education funding. Harris said the proposed $5 million funding cut is the result of conversations with the Iowa Department of Education, in which officials said the special education division was planning to spend less than $2.5 million of the $10 million it was allocated last year.
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“I’m not sure that we’ve seen the total repercussions yet of those changes within the school system, and I think that’s why they’re having, probably, a difficult time finding staff,” Brown-Powers said.
Harris said he agreed with Brown-Powers about liking the original budget set by the House education appropriations subcommittee, but what he brought forward was the compromise that could be reached.
“I preferred, actually, all of our original numbers, not just on this budget, but all the other budgets,” Harris said. “But that’s part of negotiations.”
The amendment passed, and the full bill was moved to the House floor with a 17-5 vote.
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