IOWA POLITICS

Legislature secures tuition freeze at universities

Jason Noble
jnoble2@dmreg.com
Capitol and flowers

A budget boosting funding to Iowa's three public universities and freezing tuition for the second year in a row is headed to Gov. Terry Branstad.

The Republican-led House and Democrat-controlled Senate agreed late Wednesday to a $986.1 million spending plan funding the regents universities and many more of the state's education operations, finalizing roughly one-seventh of state's budget for the coming year and inching the Legislature closer to the adjournment of its 2014 session.

The state will spend $230.9 million on general aid to the University of Iowa, $180.9 million on Iowa State University and $89.2 million on the University of Northern Iowa – increases of 4 percent for each of the schools plus an additional $2.6 million for UNI.

The Iowa Board of Regents had told lawmakers that a 4 percent increase in state funding to the schools would be necessary to ensure tuition for in-state students remained at its current level in the 2014-15 school year.

In a statement, Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter thanked the Legislature for its support of the universities and its additional funding to UNI in particular, which has struggled financially in recent years in part because of its relatively high percentage of in-state students who pay a lower tuition rate.

Elsewhere in the budget, lawmakers added $2 million for the administration at the Department of Education, but removed language directing $1 million to go toward bullying prevention efforts.

The bill contains no specific funding for new anti-bullying initiatives that were part of Branstad's agenda this year, but does require the department to prepare a report describing its anti-bullying programming and any money spent on that programming.

The also adds $50.5 million for the centerpiece program in the K-12 education overhaul approved by lawmakers last year – a new teacher leadership structure that will reward educators who take on mentoring and leadership roles in their schools.

General aid to community colleges was increased by $8 million – or 4.1 percent – to a total of $201.3 million.