Every year, West High’s budget department receives funding from the state of Iowa, which determines the amount of money that the schools will have to work with for the upcoming year. However, West High’s staff is already preparing for a district budget cut in the coming year due to a multitude of different reasons. With a projected budget cut goal of $3.75 million, and an ongoing $1.877 million budget reduction, the 2024-2025 school year will bring many changes to West.
One of the most prominent aspects that led to the budget cut is the projected growth of the Iowa City Community School District, or the lack thereof. Art teacher Christian Aanestad says, “ICCSD is no longer a growing district, so we are losing funding.”
“ICCSD is no longer a growing district, so we are losing funding.”
This is paired with the lingering impacts that the Coronavirus lockdown had on staff. In 2020, the state received ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds to help with the impact that COVID-19 had on the District. The ESSER Funds were used to hire more staff during the lockdown and online school, but now that majority of students have returned to in-person schooling and the ESSER Funds have been used up, there is instead an overstaffing issue.
As the prices of goods increase, there is a greater strain on the finances in classes that use consumable goods, such as art classes and culinary arts. The state of Iowa is unable to follow this economic demand, which has led to a change in how the budget is accessed and communication with the administration to determine classroom necessities.
In 2023, Iowa passed the new school voucher system. This new legislation pushes for students to enroll in private schools instead of public, which then diverts the money that schools receive per student. However, the voucher system has taken away money from the district, and although state taxes are attempting to follow that, with a $107 million taxpayer estimate in 2023, the program has led to underfunding in the new year.
In response, the district will not be cutting classes directly, but instead be implementing budget cuts in different ways. Some options that are being debated by the school board currently include retiring Hills Elementary, making WRAM (Weighted Resource Allocation Model) adjustments, encouraging Non-Retirement Staff Attrition, or changing employee insurance contributions. These changes are more district level, but there will also be changes to West directly. The administration is aiming to increase class sizes while also decreasing extracurricular funding, specifically for the fine arts, library, and athletics.
Aanestad says, “From an art standpoint, we are still being supported by the school district. Traditionally, Iowa City has worked very hard to support the fine arts through all financial strain. I’ve been here for 20 years… and the board recognizes the importance of fine arts for all people in Iowa City, so they make sure it is funded.”
