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Superintendent: district monitoring proposed 2% SSA, federal grant pause and other bills
Summary
Superintendent Matt Degner briefed the board on state and federal developments the district is tracking, including a proposed 2% supplemental state aid increase, bills on cell phones and civics testing, and an interim pause on some federal grants that may affect reimbursements and nutrition services.
Superintendent Matt Degner summarized state and federal developments the district is monitoring and identified potential impacts for the Iowa City Community School District.
Degner said the governor proposed a 2% increase to supplemental state aid (SSA) and that "the Senate also released a proposal for a 2% SSA package," noting that SSA affects per-pupil allocations used to fund the district’s general fund. He also said the district is tracking proposed bills on cell phones, preschool public-private partnership grants mentioned by the governor, a civics-testing bill for students, and proposals affecting DEI work at K–12 institutions.
On the federal level, Degner addressed recent news of a judicial pause affecting certain federal grants. He said the district had been reviewing potential impact points with legal counsel and that definitive guidance from federal agencies was likely required to determine specific effects. "We need to continue to talk to them and wait for further guidance to come," Degner said.
Board members asked whether the pause threatened the district’s ability to provide free school meals. Matt (Degner) and administrative staff said they did not yet know. Degner explained that roughly 3.5% of the district’s general-fund budget comes from federal funding (primarily Title programs and Medicaid reimbursements). When asked to quantify that on a roughly $200 million general-fund budget, Degner said it equates to about $7,000,000. Nutrition services were noted separately: the nutrition program has about a $9,000,000 budget, with "just a little bit below two-thirds" coming from federal sources (reported as approximately $6,000,000).
Degner and staff explained that many federal disbursements are made quarterly to states, which then pass funds to districts, and that if federal disbursements were paused states might hold funds longer or return them to the federal government depending on guidance. He said the district is awaiting more specific agency direction and that legal counsel is engaged to help interpret impacts.
Degner also announced a district legislative forum scheduled for Feb. 28, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. in the same room.
