All but two members of the Iowa House have endorsed a bill that would give Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools a four percent increase in state aid for the academic year that begins in the fall of 2010.
Representative Scott Raecker, a Republican from Urbandale, warned the state can’t afford the previous promises made about increased school funding. "We do not know how we’re going to pay for it this year, let alone next year," Raecker said.
Representative Phil Wise, a Democrat from Keokuk, said legislators would meet their previous committments and this one for next year, too. "I have absolutely no doubt that a ‘yes’ vote on this bill is the right thing to do," Wise said. "Representative Raecker, you worry too much."
The bill passed the House on a 97-to-two vote. The Iowa Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure sometime Thursday.