A bill under review in the Iowa House would give the state’s smallest school districts a bit more budget flexibility. The bill is designed for districts with fewer than 200 students for three consecutive years. It would let them redirect property taxes for equipment and technology as well as sales tax money that’s currently designated for construction projects — if 60% of voters in the school district approve the transfers.
Representative Austin Harris, a Republican from Moulton, is the bill’s author. “The idea is that some of these smaller districts are struggling financially. It allows them to use locally taxpayer funded dollars that are already being collected for General Fund expenses to make sure that the children’s education isn’t being affected and helps give a little bit more relief to the districts,” Harris said. “It doesn’t increase state spending and does not increase taxes.”
The redirected tax money could not be used for salaries and benefits, but could be spent on things like utilities, textbooks or transportation costs. Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist for Rural School Advocates of Iowa, said the bill cuts a good balance between ensuring kids get a good education and ensuring tax dollars are spent appropriately.
“In California they actually have a statute that defines a ‘necessarily small school’ and they get extra resource from the state,” Buckton said, “and this would be short of that
kind of proposal, but I think it would be helpful.”
The Farm Bureau opposes the bill because it expands what property taxes could be used for. It appears the bill would apply to fewer than 20 school districts in the state.
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