(Red Oak) Iowa school districts are facing a challenge in drafting budgets because they have not received any information from the legislature regarding Supplemental State Aid (SSA). Public school districts in Iowa rely on SSA and local property tax levy revenue to fund their operations. According to Iowa law, the state percentage of growth must be passed by the Iowa Legislature by the 30th day of the session. The House has passed a bill for a three percent increase, but the Senate has not yet acted on it. The Governor has proposed a 2.5 percent SSA increase.
Red Oak Schools Superintendent Ron Lorenz has stated that there has been a lack of attention given to the SSA due to the focus on the AEA restructuring bill.
He also notes that creating a contingency plan is difficult since the calculations are complex and done through a platform from the Department of Management. Lorenz explains that altering the spreadsheet is not as simple as making a copy since there are many numbers to consider, such as levy rates.
Despite the uncertainty, the Red Oak School District has created a tentative budget based on a 2.5 percent increase in SSA.
However, school districts face a tight deadline to submit their budgets by April 15th. This process requires several procedural deadlines to be met, including a taxpayer notice by March 20th, a public hearing by March 25th, and a publicized notice 10 to 20 days before the hearing date. The final property tax and budget decision must be made by April 1st and April 15th, respectively.
