Hein supports increased funding for schools

     Rep. Lee Hein (R-Monticello) voted to provide Iowa school districts with an additional $89.3 million in new funding for the 2019-20 school year. The legislation that passed included a significant increase in general state aid as well as $7.8 million in targeted funding for rural schools to reduce disproportionally high transportation costs and $2.9 million in funding to reduce a long-standing inequity in the school funding formula by $5 per student.

     In total, the funding package passed by the House will bring state investment in K-12 education to more than $3.3 billion annually, an increase of $865 million since the 2011-12 school year. Over that same time, 3,100 new teachers have been hired to staff Iowa classrooms and the student-teacher ratio has decreased every year even while enrollment has grown.

     School districts in House District 96 will receive an additional $977,622 in transportation funding for the 2019-20 school year.

     “This K-12 funding package clearly demonstrates our commitment to Iowa schools,” said Hein. “I will continue to make our local schools a priority and will look for additional ways we can improve the educational experience for Iowa’s kids.”