Action Line for January 15, 2010
Volume XXXIII, Number 1
This week, the Capitol saw an immense amount of action on education bills, primarily to meet federal Race to the Top deadlines. The Legislature finished work on the bill needed to implement the Race to the Top grant today. See the description below for SF 2033. In short, the language passed, without the amendment we supported, and was headed to the Governor for his signature this afternoon. The grant application will be filed Saturday, Jan. 16, with the U.S. Department of Education.
Earlier this week on Thursday, Jan. 13, IASB sent a note to school districts recommending they not submit their Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), due to concerns about the statutory language that would require low-performing school districts to enter into collective bargaining regarding interventions. As of this morning, 220 MOUs were submitted representing approximately 49 percent of the students in the state. We are already receiving inquiries from school districts wanting to know how to withdraw their MOUs. We are currently working with the Iowa Department of Education to develop a process for boards to follow. We will keep you posted on progress on that discussion. To all of you who helped contact legislators on this bill, we thank you. We will continue to discuss what options we have to fight the collective bargaining piece, and will keep you updated.
IASB is hosting three Regional Lobby Days throughout the legislative session this year, instead of our annual Legislative Conference, in order to have a more strategic and consistent presence at the Capitol. We will begin each day with a briefing on the issues, and will then visit the Capitol to meet with legislators. This is an incredibly powerful opportunity for you to build relationships with your legislators and tell your district's story, so lawmakers understand the implications of their actions. IASB members are invited to attend any day, but we have split the state up by region as shown below in hopes of having a presence each of these three months.
Jan. 19 - AEA 267, Prairie Lakes (AEA 8), Mississippi Bend (AEA 9)
Feb. 16 - Keystone (AEA 1), Great Prairie, Northwest
March 9 - Grant Wood (AEA 10), Heartland (AEA 11), Loess Hills (AEA 13), Green Valley (AEA 14)
This opportunity is free of charge but we do ask people to register. More information is available online at http://www.ia-sb.org/EventsTraining.aspx?id=8410.
IASB held two legislative issues webinars this week to build understanding about legislative issues we expect to arise this session. The PowerPoint presentation and a video of legislative leaders is available online; a recording will be available soon. Visit www.ia-sb.org.
We will continue the popular CapitolCast this year, making short, 5-minute video clips available at least every other week. Please feel free to use these clips as a way to stay updated yourself, or show them at the board table to keep your community in the loop on advocacy efforts. This week's CapitolCast is available at http://www.ia-sb.org/LegislativeAdvocacy.aspx?id=6380.
Bill Tracker
To Governor
This bill implements the provisions needed for Iowa to be eligible for the Race to the Top funds. Two-thirds of the bill are basically noncontroversial – raising the cap on charter schools and implementation of Innovation Zones. One provision, however, regarding interventions for the lowest-performing schools is controversial and IASB opposes it. The grant outlines four interventions that the lowest-performing schools must use. All of the interventions require some level of staff turnover or building restructuring, including building closure. The final bill has language that requires boards to negotiate the selection of the intervention strategy as well as the implementation of the selected interventions. IASB believes those decisions are, and should remain, under the authority of school boards. Rep. Kevin Koester (R – Ankeny) sponsored an amendment to pull the language but it was defeated on a mostly partisan vote 52-47. IASB adamantly opposed the one provision but monitored the bill as a whole. The bill is on its way to the governor.
IASB was successful in convincing the Legislature to delay setting the FY 2012 allowable growth rate. Iowa law requires this rate to be set within 30 days of the governor’s budget submission. SF 2045 and SF 2046 were approved unanimously by both chambers and now go to the Governor for his signature - they delay state aid and categorical funding. IASB supported the bills.
Bills on the Move
Two identical bills that would direct the School Budget Review Committee to more carefully examine and take action against districts with excessive cash reserves made their way through the legislative process this week. The governor has made it a priority to push schools to use cash reserves rather than raise property taxes. HF 2030 would require the SBRC to adopt rules to consider limits on schools that have an excessive amount of unexpended fund balance. The bill, as amended by the House, would restrict this authority to the unobligated and undesignated portion of a school district’s ending fund balance. The SBRC would have the authority to request an appearance by a district with “excessive” cash reserves and could restrict the district’s ability to levy for additional cash reserves until that balance is spent down. According to the Iowa Department of Education, the initial threshold for consideration will be anything above two months worth of undesignated and unreserved balances. The bill also expands the membership on the SBRC by one individual and changes the Director of the Department of Education to an ex-officio member. HF 2030 passed the House 85-8. The Senate will consider the bill next week. IASB expressed concerns about limiting the ability of districts to manage their finances. IASB is monitoring the bill.
This bill would allow school districts to levy for health benefits in the management fund. Unlike other management fund expenditures, however, this expenditure would require boards to take the issue to a vote of the people where it would need to pass by a simple majority. The ability to use the management fund for health benefits is at the sole discretion of the board and would not be subject to arbitration. IASB has concerns about the bill because it widens the inequity between schools that can pass additional levies and those who cannot. The fiscal impact is potentially as high as a $400 million increase in property taxes, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The bill is in the House Education Committee.
IASB Government Relations Team
Mary Gannon, mgannon@ia-sb.org
Emily Piper, emily@ialobbyresources.com
Marte Brightman, mbrightman@ia-sb.org
How to Contact Legislators:
Phone your legislators at the Capitol: House Switchboard (515) 281-3221 Senate Switchboard (515) 281-3371. Or find your legislators’ contact information at home: www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Legislators/LegislatorInfo.aspx
Delivery Note: IASB sends you the Action Line by the fastest method possible: e-mails are usually sent Thursday evening; the print version is mailed Friday. If you prefer the Action Line by a method other than how it's now being sent to you, please contact Marte Brightman at IASB, mbrightman@ia-sb.org, or 1-800-795-4272.