The Mid-Prairie School Board identified legislative priorities for the 2025-2026 fiscal year at its meeting on Monday.

The board chose five focus areas for the upcoming year: high-quality teacher workforce, diverse and engaging educational experiences, mental health, supplemental state aid (SSA), and safe and secure school environment. Four of the five were repeated from last year’s board priorities, with SSA being added following delays from the legislature last spring in providing an SSA rate as the board constructed its budget and tax rate for the new fiscal year within their required timeline.

The Iowa Association of School Boards’ legislative platform, which was the document Mid-Prairie selected its focus areas from, advocates for an SSA rate that: Sufficiently supports the ability of local districts to meet parent and community expectations and provide a world-class education for all students; Provides the resources to recruit and retain a high-quality teacher and staff workforce; and Incorporates inflation and cost-of-living increases to minimize the negative impact on a district’s general fund from these increased costs.

In the recent legislative session SSA was set at 2%. 

The board will meet with Tammi Drawbaugh from the IASB at a special work session on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.