Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
The Des Moines Independent Community School District, which has more than 30,000 enrolled students, will take the biggest hit from Gov. Chet Culver’s order to cut 10 percent across-the-board from the budget.
Iowa’s largest school district will see its budget cut by $15.7 million, according to figures released by the governor’s office Friday (.xls). However, the governor’s office points out that the district has more than $26 million in cash reserves. In announcing the budget cuts Thursday, Culver said he would ask the legislature to pass a bill forcing school districts to use their cash reserves in lieu of property tax increases in order to avoid deep cuts and extensive layoffs.
“Right now there is roughly $400 million in cash reserves in our 365 school districts,” Culver said. “So as we tighten our belt, we’re asking those local school districts to do the same.”
Chris Bern, president of the Iowa State Education Association, a union that represents more than 34,000 education employees, came out in support of the Culver’s plan early Friday, saying the cash reserves can help avoid “poor choices that would have an adverse effect in the long-run.”
Jack Hill, president of the Iowa Association of School Boards, did not address Culver’s plan directly, instead saying all options should be evaluated before any decision is made.
Des Moines School Superintendent Nancy Sebring said that while the district was able to avoid taking drastic steps after Culver cut the state’s budget 1.5 percent last year, there are no guarantees this time around.
“During the last round of reductions we were able to ensure services and educational programs were largely untouched,” she said. “This time, everything is subject to review and there are no guarantees that will occur again.”
The district’s director of community relations, Leigh McGivern, could not confirm the governor’s estimate of cash reserves, saying that data is currently being analyzed.
Cedar Rapids Community School District will see the second biggest reduction, with its projected budget cut totaling more than $8 million. That district has more than $23 million in cash reserves, the governor’s office said.
Dubuque Community Schools will face a $5 million budget reduction with only $701,000 in cash reserves. As of the 2007-2008 school year, the district has 10,728 students enrolled in its schools.
All told, the governor’s office estimates the budget cuts for K-12 education will total around $238 million. The combined cash reserves for all of Iowa’s school districts totals more than $405 million.
According to the governor’s data (.xls), there are 45 districts with a negative ending balance. The largest, nearly $5 million, belongs to the Southeast Polk Community School District. The district will see its budget cut $2.7 million.
“The governor understands that not every district will be able to cover the 10 percent reduction with their reserves, and they will have to determine what is best for them,” said Troy Price, Culver’s press secretary. “But, most have reserve funds, and the Governor believes that to help lessen the impact of this cut on Iowans, those districts need to utilize their reserves, not raise property taxes. “
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UPDATE at 3 p.m. — The Des Moines Independent Community School District’s Director of Community Relations Leigh McGivern has confirmed to the Iowa Independent the total amount in the district’s cash reserves:
The district’s overall unaudited fund balance is $23.7 million, of which all but $11.7 million is unrestricted, so that $11.7 million is our actual available fund balance, which is 3.4 percent of our entire budget. We do not want to deplete the entire fund balance for obvious reasons.
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