By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
SIGOURNEY – During the Dec. 10 meeting of the Sigourney School Board, the board spoke with Dave Daughton, an education lobbyist working for Rural School Advocates of Iowa and School Administrators of Iowa, who gave the board an overview of his organizations’ priorities in the upcoming legislative session and on what changes are expected from the state government. The 100-day-long legislature session is set to begin on Jan. 12. Daughton stated that he wished he had good news, but rarely does. He explained that one of his groups’ biggest priorities was school funding, particularly School Supplemental Aid (SSA), which gives state funding to schools on a per-student basis. Currently, Iowa schools receive roughly $8,000 per student from the state government. The legislature decides on increases to SSA each year; in 2025, the legislature increased funding by just 2%.
Daughton asked how Sigourney’s enrollment was doing. Superintendent Kevin Hatfield stated they were down five students, but served seven more. Daughton stated that this was better than a lot of other schools and that a vast majority of Iowa schools were showing enrollment decline. He stated that an increase to SSA could help the school keep the same budget, despite losing a few students. Daughton stated that the news he had heard from legislators was not good, due to the state budget having problems, revenue projections being much less than what the legislature expected, and the state having a $250 million Medicaid deficit. He stated he had been told to not expect a large SSA increase, if any, and that some sources had told him to expect a 0% increase in school funding.
Daughton stated that, by law, the legislature is required to decide on SSA funding within one month after the state budget comes out in January, but that this usually ends up taking three months. He stated that this forces schools to guess on their budgets and send out inaccurate property tax notifications, where they guess higher tax rates than they end up implementing, which makes school districts unpopular. Board member Steven Seeley asked what the repercussions would be for the legislature if they didn’t get the SSA increase decided in time. Daughton stated there would be no repercussions. Seeley asked what would happen if they held off on sending out property tax notices. Daughton stated that the state government would withhold funding.
Daughton stated that staff shortages continue to be an issue. He said that he had heard things were getting a little better, but that this was situational and depended on county. He stated that schools struggle to pay paraeducators enough to keep up with other businesses. Hatfield stated that they used to receive 8-10 applications for job openings, but now usually get only two. Daughton said his groups were trying to help with this with things like paying off student loans, hiring bonuses, and loosening license guidelines.
Daughton said that everyone wants their property taxes to go down, but that this takes away resources for public work like roads, courthouses and schools. He explained that the legislature had been struggling with a property tax bill, due to every bill proposed raising taxes at least one of the main three property tax paying groups (commercial/industrial, residential, and agricultural). Daughton stated that the legislature may try to put limits on how much schools are allowed to levy, on their ability to have bond issues, or on their management funds. He stated he didn’t know what the legislature would do, but that they needed to reform taxes in a way that gave schools the resources they need. Hatfield brought up budget guarantees, which ensure school districts receive at least the same amount of funding as the previous year, with the difference when schools receive less funding coming from property taxes. Daughton stated that the state justifies low SSA as a way to lower property taxes, but that this just forces schools to raise taxes. He noted that the budget guarantee only lasts for one year.
Daughton stated that the Iowa Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) committee had made two recommendations regarding education. The first recommendation was to overhaul IPERS, the pension program for government employees in Iowa. Daughton stated that this had been met with heavy resistance. The second recommendation was to implement merit based play. Daughton stated this sounds nice on paper, but never works in real life, because it is hard to measure, doesn’t consider things like music or PE, and punishes experienced teachers for agreeing to take on more challenging students. Hatfield stated that it forces teachers to teach for the test.
Daughton also listed preschool funding, local school board control and flexible funding authority, prioritizing public schools, increased funding for poverty, special needs, drop-out prevention and mental healthcare programs, protecting rural access to AEAs, increased school safety funding, E-Verify background checks and student behavior as other priorities his groups are speaking to legislators about. Hatfield stated it must be difficult to argue for state funding for preschool, dropout-prevention or mental health programs in this environment. Daughton said the legislature claims that they don’t have money and are giving all they afford, but don’t mention the $350 million they gave to ESAs and also don’t want to let schools raise taxes. Board member Adam Clark asked about school consolidation. Daughton stated that there was no public talk, but he believed it was discussed behind closed doors. He stated that although it can save costs on teachers, admin and buildings, consolidation doesn’t change the amount given by the state per student. He said that closing schools leads to anger and resentment in school districts and that, while it can save resources, people believe that closing schools makes towns die. He stated they weren’t wrong, but that what actually happens is that towns are already dying, and that kills the school. He stated that he didn’t want the state telling districts they had to consolidate.
Also at the Wednesday meeting, Jenny Gay and Donita Clarahan of the Insurance Committee recommended that the district leave its current insurance Trust, Mercer, and switch to the non-trust insurance provider TrueNorth. Gay stated that they were not in desperate need of changing insurance, but that this would be a proactive change to try and make things better. She explained that the committee did not “trust the trust” due to a lack of information, that premiums were trending high, and that pharmacy prices and claims with Mercer were going up. Gay stated that they would like for the district to continue having a fully funded single plan. Clarahan stated that they wanted benefits to be competitive. Gay stated that she had been at Sigourney for twenty years, in part because of the benefits offered.
Gay stated that TrueNorth had offered new options and that Mercer only began offering those options after the committee stated that TrueNorth had offered them. Clarahan stated that Mercer was not transparent, which was a red flag. Gay stated that they had told the district last year that the increase in costs would be capped at 10%, then raised it by 15%. She stated that teachers feel guilty using their insurance, because they worry it will raise the school’s premiums.
Clarahan stated that switching to TrueNorth would help retain and attract staff. Gay stated that she believes TrueNorth will give additional services and options, hold or lower out of pocket costs, provide a reserve for the district, and communicate better. She stated that no insurance company will be able to give them exact numbers until January of February. Clark asked what the committee would recommend, if switching wouldn’t save money. Gay stated that she still believed they should switch for the better service. Hatfield stated he would send a non-binding letter to TrueNorth, stating that the district was interested.
Hatfield, who announced his retirement last month, stated that they had spoken with a couple of viable candidates to take over as Sigourney superintendent. He stated that they planned to open the job for applications on Dec. 12, close it Jan. 7, and possibly choose a candidate during the March board meeting. Hatfield stated that they would send a survey out to staff, community members, admin and students asking what qualities they wanted in a superintendent. He stated that the survey would also act about the facilities update.
The board approved sending a notification of non-renewal to Varsity Group Advertising, whose contract ends at the end of June. The board approved a contract with Thunder Country for a new display board in the gym. The board approved applicants for the new Voluntary Early Retirement policy. Elementary Principal Deanna Spence’s admin report stated that there were 14 four-year-olds interested in a five-day a week preschool program; she stated that she would see if there were more to reach out to. Hatfield stated that he was speaking with Keota about them paying an “appropriate share” for shared activities.
