State funding leaves local schools struggling

By: 
Nick Pedley

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     Declining enrollment and low state funding have local school districts tightening their belts as they look towards the 2016-17 school year.
     Two of Franklin County’s four main school districts recently approved budgets that increase property taxes next year. Despite the hikes, the schools won’t be living lavishly. The new money will simply allow each district to operate normally without cutting classroom offerings for students.
     “We just do not have enough kids to generate the revenue needed to operate a school, even at our level,” said CAL Superintendent Steve Lane. “For the past five years, the Legislature has not come close to keeping pace with what is needed to properly fund education, and there is no will to do so.”
     This year, the Iowa Legislature approved a 2.25 percent increase in K-12 education funding for the upcoming school year. 
     Read the full article in the April 20 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.

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