March 18, 2024

Branstad’s veto nixes $55.7M in K-12 funding

Callaghan said he’s ‘disappointed’ funds won’t be available

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DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad announced a series of budget vetoes Thursday, using his powerful pen to cross out $55.7 million in one-time education funding as well as a bipartisan deal to keep two state mental health institutes open.

The line-item veto to 2015-16 education funding means approximately $329,000 less will be going to the Newton Community School District, but Superintendent Bob Callaghan said Thursday the lack of funding will not impact staffing or personnel for the year ahead.

Branstad announced the vetoes late in the day before a holiday weekend, as he acted on a slew of budget bills. While the governor approved much of the more than $7 billion in spending passed in the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate, he struck down several carefully negotiated deals.

In a veto message, Branstad said he was being fiscally prudent, writing: “As the chief executive of this state, it is my responsibility to have a long term vision that maintains stability and predictability in our state’s budget. I made the decisions today in order to prevent across the board cuts that occurred under the previous administration.”

The vetoes came after a particularly difficult legislative session that dragged well past the expected concluding date.

At the center of the debate was a philosophical difference over the funds available to spend. By using some one-time spending in the deal, Republicans could maintain a pledge to keep ongoing spending in line with projected revenues, while Democrats got more money for key priorities such as education. But in the end, Branstad removed much of the one-time spending.

After his actions, the spending for the fiscal year that began Wednesday includes $7.17 billion in ongoing general fund expenses, as well as $56 million in one-time payments. The one-time payments - originally set at $135 million by lawmakers - come from surplus fund dollars left at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Callaghan said the $329,000 Newton would have received would not have been used for personnel. However, Callaghan said, that money could have been used on instruction programs and devices; the district is set to receive bids and hold a public hearing at its July 13 meeting for a purchase of tablets and accessory hardware, and that will now have to be paid for out of local-option sales tax money.

Newton is the largest school district in Jasper County. Prairie City-Monroe, Baxter, Colfax-Mingo and Lynnville-Sully might be affected fractionally more than Newton, but are not missing out on a dollar figure anywhere close to Newton’s $329,000.

Callaghan also said the removal of the possibility of one-time funding won’t mean anything immediately to Newton property taxes, or even the district’s purchases in the weeks and months ahead.

“It’s a trickle-down effect, so it’s too far down the road to see what we won’t be able to afford,” Callaghan said. “It will probably be about six months before we discover exactly what is impacted by this.”

The superintendent said he was looking forward to using local option sales tax money for other items for education.

“I’m disappointed that the funding source won’t be there for the kids,” Callaghan said.

In addition to cutting funds for K-12 education, Branstad removed one-time payments to higher education in the state. In a statement, Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said the board remained committed to a tuition freeze in the fall semester at the three state universities.

Education funding had been a point of contention during legislative budget talks, with Democrats seeking to spend more than Republicans.

The final agreement included an increase in ongoing money for K-12 education, as well as the one-time payment. But Branstad said one-time spending was not wise and that the state was investing in schools in a variety of ways, including a teacher leadership program created under his watch. Democratic lawmakers disagreed with his move.

“The Branstad-Reynolds Administration is deliberately undermining bipartisan efforts to boost student achievement in our K-12 schools and to make higher education affordable for students from working families,” said Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, in a statement.

The fate of the two mental health institutes — in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda — was also hotly debated during the session. After Branstad sought to end funding for the facilities, lawmakers reached a deal to keep the Mount Pleasant center open and to seek a private provider to run the other.

Branstad argued in his veto message that it was not in the best interest of the state to “continue operating an aging, antiquated mental health institution.” He said the state could continue with two remaining facilities and provide better care.

Sen. Rich Taylor, R-Mount Pleasant, said he was disappointed. “In the end, the governor ignored the will of a majority of Iowans and once again took the ‘my way or the highway’ approach to getting things done,” Taylor said in a statement.

Newton Daily News staff writer Jason W. Brooks contributed to this story.