DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa schools will have additional funding in a bill just signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds.
The bill backed by the Republican majority in the legislature increases funding by 2.4 percent, which translates to $179 per student.
Democrats argued the increase should have been bigger because the bill's formula actually cuts funding for pre-school.
Republicans say they're working on a fix for pre-schools that will be introduced later.
Democrats were pushing for more spending in the bill as the state now has a budget surplus. The bill's formula for per-pupil spending is based on this fall’s enrollment, which declined during the pandemic, leading to the cut for pre-schools.
The bill also provides $27 million to help schools with pandemic costs. Districts will split that money based on how many days they offered in-person classes during the fall semester. Some districts, notably Des Moines, will receive less money in this calculation for continuing to hold online only classes.