Relating to school funding, including the teacher salary supplement cost per pupil and teacher and education support professional compensation, and making appropriations

For school years beginning on or after July 1, 2026, the bill increases the minimum teacher starting salary to $50,000. The bill defines “education support personnel” as regular and part-time employees of a school district who are not salaried. For the budget year beginning July 1, 2024, the department of management must calculate a teacher salary supplement district cost per pupil in an amount equal to the sum of the amount necessary to allow the school district to provide the minimum starting teacher salary and the amount necessary, not to exceed $14 million in the aggregate among all school districts, to allow each school district to provide a minimum education support personnel (ESP) wage of $15 per hour including costs associated with the employer’s share of contributions to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system and the employer’s share of the tax imposed by the federal Insurance Contributions Act. The bill requires similar calculations in the budget year beginning July 1, 2025, to account for the increase in the minimum annual teacher salary. The bill also provides that the amount calculated related to ESP shall grow by the categorical state percent of growth. For budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2026, the teacher salary supplement district cost per pupil for each school district for a budget year is the teacher salary supplement program district cost per pupil for the base year plus the teacher salary supplement supplemental state aid amount for the budget year, which is the calculation used for the budget year 2023-2024. The bill appropriates $22 million to the department of education (DE) for FY 2024-2025 to provide a funding supplement to each school district to be used at the school district’s discretion to supplement teacher salaries and the salaries and wages of ESP in a manner that promotes quality teaching and rewards experience. Each school district’s funding supplement amount will be an amount equal to $22 million multiplied by the quotient of the school district’s budget enrollment for the budget year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, divided by the statewide total budget enrollment for the budget year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024. The moneys appropriated to the DE that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year do not revert but remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year. The payment of funding supplement amounts must be paid by the DE at the same time and in the same manner as the teacher salary supplement district cost is paid for FY 2024-2025. The bill makes conforming changes.