Oops? House GOP seeks to fix 'oversight' in how schools can spend millions from AEA law

Some House Republicans are seeking to correct what they see as an oversight in Iowa's law overhauling the state's Area Education Agencies, a new statute that gives school districts broad authority over a pool of money they'll be taking over from the AEAs.

But it's not clear if Gov. Kim Reynolds or Senate Republicans view the language as a mistake or if they are open to changing it.

The issue stems from the wide-ranging law Reynolds signed March 27 redistributing portions of the funding that currently goes to Iowa's AEAs. When the law is fully in place, school districts will gain control over a pool of about $68 million that the AEAs receive to provide general education services and media services.

House Republicans passed an earlier version of the AEA overhaul law that would have required districts to continue using that money on education and media services — they just wouldn't have to spend the money with the AEAs.

But the final version of the legislation that passed the House and was signed into law by Reynolds simply says that the money "may be used by the school district for any school district general fund purpose."

More: Which Iowa lawmakers voted to overhaul AEAs, raise teacher pay? Here's the rundown:

Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, who was one of 51 House Republicans who voted for the bill, said the broader language in the final law was "just an oversight." But he acknowledged it "could have a more negative impact" on the AEAs if districts no longer have to spend the money on the same services.

"So the plan is that we’ll put some language in another bill to take it back to the original language," he said.

In the coming school year, districts will gain control over 60% of the money that AEAs currently receive for education and media services. School districts will receive 100% of the money beginning in the 2025-26 school year.

That pool of money amounts to $35.7 million for general education services and $32.3 million for media services.

Siegrist said the AEAs are concerned that if school districts don't have to spend that money on education or media services at all, they may spend it on other things. That would further reduce the amount of money coming into the AEAs, which could lead to them needing to reduce their staffing or offer fewer services.

He said he's not sure if the House and Senate would support that change, but said he and other House Republicans will fight for it.

"I’m going to push very hard to make sure we make that change," he said.

Siegrist isn't the only member of the House Republican caucus who has concerns.

"House Republicans are working through possible solutions to address the concern Rep. Siegrist discussed, but it’s not clear that it will have support in the Senate or Governor’s office," Melissa Saitz, a spokesperson for House Republicans, said in a statement.

More: Kim Reynolds signs AEA overhaul, teacher pay raise into law. Here's how it will work:

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Reynolds raised the possibility of schools using the money to increase teacher salaries if they need additional funding beyond the new money included in the law.

"Some of the media service dollars that they will now be retaining and some of the educational service dollars, if they want to use those for salaries they can do that, too," she said.

A spokesperson for Reynolds did not provide a comment Thursday or Friday about the House's intention to change the language in the law.

A spokesperson for Senate Republicans said he would look into the issue.

Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of the Heartland AEA in central Iowa, said it would be easier for the AEAs to continue to sell media and education services to districts under the law's "fee for service" model if districts had to spend that money on similar services, rather than competing with other needs.

"They could use that money in a lot of different ways, so it just means there’s potentially less focus for those dollars on educational services, professional development and media resources," she said.

The media services offered by the AEAs include online resources like e-books, search engines, databases and other technology, while the education services include professional development for teachers and school staff, literacy coaches who can help teachers with new strategies for teaching reading, mental health trainers and more.

Yelick said Heartland's staff is in the process of putting together a list of all the AEA services each school district has used in the past. And they plan to have conversations with districts about what would be helpful for the AEAs to provide going forward.

"We are planning to lean into what they need," she said.

AEAs are anticipating budget cuts as a result of the new law. Jason Plourde, chief administrator of the Green Hills AEA, told KMALand that he's facing $3 million in cuts by July 1.

"I just can't see with all those cuts, there will be no reduction in our staffing," he told the radio station.

Plourde also told KMALand that Green Hills has seen at least 20 staff members resign since February.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters Thursday that the cuts at Green Hills are "the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the impact of the new law. Democrats universally opposed the legislation.

"These consequences are real," Konfrst said. "We warned about them and they ignored us."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Oops? House GOP seeks to fix school spending 'oversight' in new AEA law