Iowa’s Education Funding Falls Behind Inflation Under Reynolds Administration

An Iowa State Senator and economics professor has released data showing Iowa’s public school funding has significantly lagged behind inflation since Governor Kim Reynolds took office, a claim validated by multiple analyses.

“Ever since Kim Reynolds became governor, Republican funding has fallen farther and farther behind inflation,” State Sen. Herman Quirmbach (D, Ames) said this week. “The shortfall this year alone amounts to over $1,000 per student. More than half a billion total statewide.”

Quirmbach’s comments come as the Iowa Senate Committee voted to increase school supplemental aid by just 1.75% for the next fiscal year, falling below Governor Reynolds’ proposed 2% increase. Meanwhile, Iowa school districts and the state’s teachers union have been advocating for a much larger 5% increase, pointing to the growing gap between funding increases and inflation rates.

The Democratic senator’s analysis uses Fiscal Year 2017 as a baseline, which marked the beginning of Governor Reynolds’ administration. Using data from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), Quirmbach calculated that the per-pupil funding in FY 2017 was $7,613. When adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator, that amount would equal $10,268 per pupil today. However, the actual state funding per pupil this fiscal year stands at only $9,220, representing a shortfall of $1,048 per student.

Independent verification by KCRG using publicly available LSA data showed similar results, though with slightly different baseline figures. According to public LSA reports, the state’s cost per pupil in FY 2017 was $6,591. When adjusted for inflation, this would equal $8,876 today. However, current state cost per pupil sits at $7,988, which is $888 less per student than the inflation-adjusted amount.

The funding gap becomes even more stark when examining total education spending. Quirmbach’s analysis, based on LSA calculations, shows that inflation-adjusted general fund spending for public schools should be approximately $4.45 billion dollars. The actual spending of $3.89 billion represents a shortfall of roughly half a billion dollars compared to FY 2017 funding levels adjusted for inflation.

KCRG’s independent verification, using a more straightforward approach, found that FY 2017’s total funding of $3.09 billion would equal $4.16 billion in today’s dollars after inflation. With current state education funding for FY 2026 at $3.89 billion, the shortfall amounts to approximately $270 million.

This funding gap has significant implications for Iowa’s education system, potentially affecting everything from teacher retention to classroom resources. Many education advocates argue that chronically underfunding schools relative to inflation effectively amounts to budget cuts in real terms.

The debate over education funding comes at a critical time for Iowa’s public schools, many of which are already dealing with financial constraints, staffing challenges, and the ongoing effects of pandemic-related learning disruptions. School district administrators across the state have expressed concern that insufficient funding increases will force difficult decisions regarding staffing, programming, and infrastructure maintenance.

Despite having a state budget surplus and significant reserves, Republican lawmakers have prioritized tax cuts over larger education funding increases in recent years. Supporters of this approach argue that fiscal discipline is necessary, while critics contend that it’s coming at the expense of one of the state’s most critical public services.

Both analyses confirm that regardless of the exact calculation method, state education funding is not keeping pace with inflation, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars less for Iowa’s public schools than would be expected if funding had maintained its relative value since Governor Reynolds took office.