Sunday, June 3, 2012

State of Iowa and Education Funding

The State of Iowa and Education Funding

Educational funding has been a challenge the past few years as the economy has weakened across the United States. What has been the impact been in your state? Utilize your state budget website to evaluate any cuts to education funding over the past several years. What have legislators done to help or hinder funding of education? In a 300 word response, answer the questions above and respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

Within these last few decades, the United States of American, has undergone struggles, and these struggles are mostly economical. The financial divisions of classes has reached an unhealthy imbalance, and contributed partially to financial devastation across the 50 states. Due to the effects of environmental disaster, and along with industry shut downs, and bank collapses, and the rising costs various wars, really America has faced major setbacks and endured critical record breaking hardships. Many states have been effected by natural disasters; winter storms, wilderness fires, mud slides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, all events have caused a ripple of financial disarray and it has impacted the whole nation.

One of the largest overall damages for the United States of America has been the rapid decline of property assessments and property values across the country. When it comes to education, this brings about layers of problems. To begin with, in our textbook, it states,

“Some of the changes in increased state responsibility for funding reflect court decisions made over the past two decades regarding how education is financed. For most of the 20th century, the major source of funding for school was the local property tax. Property tax is based on the assessed value of all the property found within the boundaries of the local school district. Therefore, the amount of money available for the schools is linked to the property vales of the school districts,”(Armstrong, p 360). So with all the different states, property takes a hit, and ultimately school funding takes a hit. It is sort of a chain reaction, or so called domino effect; damaged property, decreased values, job losses, unemployment rates, all falls back to effect different communities school funding.

Fortunately, different states are able to control budgets of their own. In the text, passage states, “At the state level, funding comes from two primary sources of revenue, income taxes and sales taxes. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia currently collect income taxes. Other sources of revenues for the schools are corporate income taxes, gaming, and a variety of other fees and taxes,”(Armstrong, p 362). When it came understanding the budget for the states of Iowa, I was surprised to find good news,

“On June 30, 2011, the last day of the fiscal year, Iowa lawmakers negotiated a budget deal after Republican legislators backed down from proposed abortion restrictions. With the agreement in place, the legislature completed a $5.99 billion state budget within hours of the start of fiscal year 2012,( Iowa State Budget, Sunshine Review April 2012). The article included the following charts:
2011 State spending & deficit in billions
[3]
Total spending
Human services
Protection
Administration
$5.6

 

2011 Local spending & deficit in billions

Total spending
$17.9

 

Fiscal Year 2013 State Budget

Because Iowa took a two year approach to the state budget in FY2012, legislators have already allocated 86 percent of the funds for FY2013. The general fund budget is again expected to be around $6 billion.

Gov.
Terry Branstad proposed a $6.2 billion budget for FY2013, which includes those prior allocations and increasing spending by 3.8%, or $230 million, over FY2012. The increase is based on projections call for state tax collections to grow 4.2 percent in FY2013. Half of state revenues will come from income taxes, and the sales tax will generate about 34 percent of revenue. The governor's proposed budget can be found .

The Governor's proposed budget break down:

Category
Education
Health and Human Services
Judicial and Corrections Systems

'K-12 Education

Gov. Branstad and top education officials have said they plan to increase the amount spent on school funding, which in FY2012 accounted for 58% of the state budget. His education reform plan would raise the pay of first-year teachers, require third-graders to pass a literacy test and reward innovative schools with extra money. The governor said he did not have a specific number in mind, but he would have a target prior to lawmakers returning in January 2012. Some in the state question whether the plan will be fiscally possible.

Higher Education

The governor's proposed budget includes $23 million increase to the budget for the state’s three public universities. House Republicans, however, called for a $31 million decrease from FY2012.

Revenue

The governor proposed reducing commercial and industrial property taxes by 40 percent over eight years, saying the levies are the second- highest in the U.S. and are costing the state jobs.

Iowa State Budget Website: Iowa State Budget / Fiscal Year 2013 State Budget : Sunshine Review / April 2012.

After evaluating the state of Iowa, and researching the history of school education funding, it is amazing to see that through these difficult years, with difficult decisions, and life changing economic effects, Iowa has been able to rise above the ashes when it comes to funding education. In fact, education funding, for schools and teachers salaries are on the rise. I am proud to be part of a state, Iowa, my native state, that amazingly seems to be generating the positive effects for all these trials, and finding the best opportunities are still in education, education when it comes to future adults and future generations and the growth of our state as a society and community.

 

 

 

References

Armstrong, D. H. (2009). Teaching today: An Introduction to Education (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River , NJ: Pearson. (Armstrong, D., Henson, K., & Savage, T., 2009).

 

Iowa State Budget Website: Iowa State Budget / Fiscal Year 2013 State Budget : Sunshine Review / April 2012.

Retrieved from "http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Iowa_state_budget" Categories: Iowa | Government spending | State salary

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