Proposed Senate bill would allow schools to request Iowa taxpayer funding for school resource officers

(The Center Square) – Iowa school districts would be able to impose additional property taxes and income surtax for school resource officer expenses if Senate File 258, passes.

The Senate Ways and Means committee is reviewing the proposed Committee on Education legislation. If passed, the bill would enable school districts to request an Instructional Support Program funding expansion, which would be used to purchase personal safety equipment and provide one school resource officer.

The proposed bill would take effect in the budget year beginning July 2022.

“The amount of funding for a budget year under subsection 1 in excess of ten percent of the school district’s total of regular program district cost for the budget year and moneys received under section 257.14 as a budget adjustment for the budget year shall be used only for school resource officer expenses,” the bill reads.

“School districts, especially the smaller, even rural districts are kind of pinched financially, and sometimes they’re having to choose between a school resource officer (SRO) and a classroom teacher because they pay for it under the general fund,” Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, told The Center Square in a phone interview.

“The purpose of this bill is to allow them to leverage the instructional support levy to be able to tap into that bucket of money so that they’re not having to utilize general funds to pay for their SROs. It would help them cover the cost of one SRO and his or her body equipment.”

School districts can ask taxpayers, via board resolution, to provide more funding for up to five years or for 10 years with a referendum.

An Instructional Support Program that is funded by property tax or by property tax and income surtax, according to the Iowa Department of Education. The maximum cost of the Instructional Support Program is 10% of the district’s regular program district cost.

“It’s not that much of a stretch for school districts to do that because local cities and counties already use this levy to fund public safety in their community,” she said.

“This bill allows districts to levy for additional property taxes and income surtax above the instructional support 10% limit to pay for the cost of school resource office and equipment,” the Iowa Association of School boards wrote in a statement online. The organization supports the bill.

Currently, school districts often split the cost with the local sheriff’s department or police department. In some school districts, police officers may travel 20 or 30 minutes to get to a school, Cournoyer said.

“[SROs] are there to develop positive relationships with the students and staff and support staff in terms of dealing with behavior issues, but also developing relationships with kids, positive relationships with law enforcement, which I think is really important, especially in these times,” Cournoyer said.

The senator added SROs can counsel troubled students as well as “work with juvenile court officers for those kids who are going down paths that could lead them to the criminal justice system” and “maybe do some proactive interventions.”

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