Capitol Notebook: Proposed public school funding increase from Iowa House GOP higher than Senate’s, governor’s

DES MOINES — Iowa’s K-12 public schools would receive a 2.25% general state funding increase in the next school year under a proposal announced this week by Iowa House Republicans. The general state funding increase is higher than the 2 percent increase pitched by Iowa Senate Republicans and Republican Gov.

Kim Reynolds. Republicans have agenda-setting majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature. House Republicans’ proposal also includes a separate, one-time $22.



6 million general state funding increase to help schools deal with inflationary costs. “We’ve heard a lot about the inflationary cost that school districts are facing. We feel that if we can help try to get through these high inflation times, that was important to us,” Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said Thursday.

House Republicans also proposed an additional $5.8 million to address equity in per pupil funding, $5.3 million to address equity in schools districts’ transportation costs, and $1 million to allow schools to conduct more operational sharing.

The proposal would mean $3.8 billion in state general fund spending on K-12 public schools in the 2025-2026 school year, according to House Republicans’ analysis. Iowa Gov.

Kim Reynolds announced Friday there will be a March 11 special election for a seat held by Republican Rep. Martin Graber, who died late last month. Graber, of Fort Madison, died of a heart attack Jan.

31 at the age of 72. Iowa lawmakers honored him Tuesday during a funeral service in his hometown. Before he was elected to the legislature, Graber served in the Iowa Army National Guard for more than three decades.

Graber was first elected to the Iowa House in 2020 and won re-election in 2024 with more than 67 percent of the vote. District 100 in southeastern Iowa includes Fort Madison, Montrose, Donnellson and West Point. Republicans hold a 66-33 majority in the Iowa House.

This is the second Iowa Legislature special election in 2025. Democrat Mike Zimmer was elected to Chris Cournoyer’s District 35 Senate seat after Reynolds chose her to serve as her lieutenant governor. Zimmer flipped a predominantly Republican senate district in an area of the state that went to President Donald Trump in November.

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