Iowa’s universal preschool likely to remain

Universal preschool in Iowa will persist for at least another school year, as Gov. Terry Branstad and Republican leaders this week conceded a proposal to move the preschool program to an income-based voucher program.

During a series of town hall meetings through Iowa this week, Branstad acknowledged it was “unlikely” that his proposal to replace universal preschool for four year-olds would succeed. The idea of implementing an income-based scholarship or voucher process was popular in the Republican-controlled House, where lawmakers approved it. However, the Democrat-controlled Senate nixed it.

Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha), agreed with the Governor Thursday.

“If you mean the policy behind (the preschool voucher system), yeah. I mean, it’s too late to implement it,” he said.

That will not change the proposed state budget, merely the piece of funding that helps comprise the budget, he emphasized.

Although Paulsen didn’t call the preschool battle a Republican loss, Democrats stated in a photo release that “public opposition to education cuts recently convinced Governor Branstad to abandon his efforts to deeply cut early education throughout the state.”

Republicans hope to reduce the per-pupil allocation for four year-old preschool students, which is about $3,500 per child.

Paulsen said Republicans will aim for a figure 60 percent or less of what it costs per-pupil in elementary or secondary schools in a public school district, adding some school district superintendents have told him they could operate adequately on less because the school day for preschool students is shorter.

“I think it is a gain for Iowans if we’re able to address that funding (for preschool), because .6 weighting is more money being spent than is necessary to run that program, at least that’s what we’ve consistently been told,” he said.  “Something less than 60 percent is reasonable.”

Paulsen said when families go to enroll their four year-old for the fall, preschool will be business as usual.

“From a family viewpoint, they’ll see no change,” he said.

Allowable growth — the adjusted cost-of-living percentage used by school districts to determine operating budgets — also appears to be resolved, Paulsen said. While Republicans have insisted no increase in allowable growth is necessary for the next two fiscal years, Democrats have pushed and fought bitterly for a two percent increase.

“I consider it resolved,” Paulsen said Thursday.  “It’s zero.

Democrats appear to be far from conceding the allowable growth fight, however. In a release Thursday just prior to a Republican leader media conference, Sen. Daryl Beall (D-Fort Dodge), said not increasing allowable growth for school would be inexcusable, as the state is expected to have $1 billion in its bank at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.

“What does that one billion dollars mean?  It means the Governor and Republicans are not being straight when Iowans when they claim the state must freeze support for local schools and shift costs onto local property taxpayers,” Beall said.

“Just 6.5 percent of one billion dollars would pay for a two percent increase in state aid to local schools and fully fund preschool for four year-olds,” Beall continued. “In other words, we could fund our local schools and still have 935 million dollars in the bank.”