Iowa Economy & Education Investment

US Census data, reports Iowa median Household Income above the USA average, in nominal dollars. http://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-households.html

Comparing Indicators: Iowa Median Income and State Cost per Pupil   Iowa Median Income State Cost per Pupil Per Pupil cost as % of Iowa Median Income 1993 $ 28,663 $ 3,336 11.6% 2015 $ 60,855 $ 6,366 10.5% Change 1993-2015 in dollars $ 32,192 $ 3,030 Change from 1993-2015 percent 112% 91%

1/9/2017

Education in Iowa gets a Smaller Slice The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO)  State Expenditure Report analyze all state expenditures excluding bonds (not just general fund.) In their analysis titled State Spending by Function, as a Percent of Total State Expenditures, Fiscal 2015 “Iowa Elementary and Secondary Education for FY 2015 was 16.3% of total state spending.” That is below the 19.6% average for the plain states region, in which Iowa is categorized, and further below the national average of 19.3% for all states.

Ed Week’s Quality Counts http://www. edweek The school finance analysis examines two critical aspects of school spending. Of the eight indicators, four assess school spending patterns, and four gauge equity in funding distribution. Across the spending indicators, Iowa finishes with a letter grade of F compared with a national average of D. Iowa ranks 28th in the nation in this area. (17.3% of students are in districts with PPE above the national average and 3% of total taxable resources spent on education.) http://www.edweek.org/media/2016/12/29/school-finance-education-week-quality-counts-2017.pdf On the equity measures, Iowa’s grade is an A-minus, which places it third in the national rankings. The nation as a whole earns a B.

What a difference a day makes. . . Iowa’s Political Landscape

Fayette County IA: Biggest flip in the USA. 2016 Trump 57% Clinton 37% 2012 Obama 55% Romney 43% http://www.cnbc.com/heres-a-map-of-the-us-counties-that-flipped-to-trump-from-democrats/

Federal Issues ESSA changes: Currently implementing, writing Iowa’s state plan (watch for a public forum near you) but with new Congress and President, will there be additional change? Pres. Election Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, confirmed yesterday 50:50 vote with VP Pence breaking tie.

Republican Hopes Many Republicans are hopeful that DeVos, an avowed conservative, will oversee a shrinking of the federal footprint in education. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) previously said he hoped that she would “implement the new law fixing No Child Left Behind just as Congress wrote it, reversing the trend to a national school board and restoring to states, governors, school boards, teachers, and parents greater responsibility for improving education in their local communities.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/01/04/senate-schedules-confirmation-hearing-for-betsy-devos-trumps-pick-for-education-secretary/?utm_term=.b94dc27f07df

http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/iowa