Creston School Board members approved the proposed school district budget during a special meeting Monday at the district’s administration building. Board member Galen Zumbach was absent.
The budget is set with a tax levy 16.6 percent per $1,000 taxable valuation, which is assuming state legislators decide on a rate of 0 percent for supplemental state aid. Thus far, there has been no compromise by legislators on supplemental state aid in Iowa.
“They have about a thousand other agencies that want funding also, State Patrol, they want to fill potholes in roads,” said Steve McDermott, Creston and Prescott superintendent. “My approach with these legislators has never been real pushy. It’s, ‘Thanks for whatever you can do for us, we appreciate it and we’d sure like to know sooner.’”
Meanwhile, a compromise has been reached after Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed a bill allowing for an Aug. 23 school start date Friday.
The signing came as a compromise after Branstad and Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck decided to no longer automatically approve early-start waivers filed by Iowa schools. The new bill will also mean the early-start waivers will no longer be offered.
“I still think it should have been a local control issue, but I appreciate the compromise,” McDermott said. “I feel like the legislators heard our reasons, and were open to those. And, I understand they were trying to satisfy a lot of different views with this. But, again, I’ll say I feel like it should have been a local control issue for local school boards to decide.”
The bill passed the Iowa House with a vote of 71-29 March 24, and passed the Iowa Senate with a vote of 28-22 March 25.
Schools were not allowed to start before Sept. 1 previously; however, many schools applied for an early-start waiver and were generally granted approval.
“I think it’s important that we have that choice to make a local decision,” said Ron Dunphy, Creston School Board president. “I understand in other parts of the state, there’s a lot of high school students probably involved in tourism, for lack of a better word, but if the local school district wants to react to that, or not, they didn’t have to ask for a waiver in the past.”
McDermott said the school start date issue may have been decided this year, but it won’t be the last we hear of it.
“I think if Iowa wasn’t rated number 31 instead of back being number three, four or five (in education compared to other states), it would be an easier push to say, ‘We’re doing our job,’” Dunphy said. “I think it is every Iowan’s wish that the outcome of education be better.”