Burlington State Senator Tom Courtney says that the state legislature will not adjourn until issues surrounding school funding are solved in the Iowa Statehouse.
Courtney spoke on the KBUR Talkshow on Thursday.
“We have to stay here until we come to an agreement. We have to.” Courtney told hosts Steve Hexom and Rob Sussman, “What is happening is that it’s getting late in the process, so you’ll see schools say ‘we can’t do a budget because we don’t know what the state money is going to be’, so schools will start… laying some people off.”
Democrats in the Senate have proposed a maximum allowable budget growth for schools of around 4% this year. Republicans have rejected compromise attempts so far, saying that they won’t go any higher than 1.25%. Governor Branstad says he prefers the lower number.
“I think we’re going to come to an agreement. I don’t think it will be 4%. It will be closer to 1.25%, because that’s the Governor’s number,” Courtney said.
Courtney predicts that the session will likely be extended past the end of the month. The legislature must pass a budget before they leave Des Moines.
