Area schools are calculating tax rates after delays in the legislature for the State Supplemental Aid rate for the 2026 fiscal year. Meanwhile schools across the state had to meet calendar deadlines to hold preliminary public hearings on their levy rates and budgets.

Monday, the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate refused to budge on its recommended 2% increase it has supported for months. The House had previously voted to support a 2.25% increase. Tuesday, the House broke the stagnation and voted to support the 2% increase. Republican senators Dawn Driscoll of Iowa County and Marc Lofgren of Muscatine County both voted in favor as part of Tuesday’s 32-15 Senate vote, as did Republican Representatives Helena Hayes of Mahaska County, Heather Hora of Washington County and Taylor Collins of Des Moines County in Tuesday’s 59-36 House vote.

The SSA rate controls how much state funding will be allocated to each public school district, with the rest of funding coming largely from local property taxes.

Mid-Prairie Community Schools Business Manager Jeff Swartzentruber said that since the district is allowed to decrease, but not increase, its proposed levy, they erred on the side of caution while waiting on the state, “By the time we were supposed to hold our public hearing or file the paperwork for the hearing, we had to assume at that point that it was going to be a 0% SSA increase, and because its zero, that means that we cannot be as aggressive posting a tax levy for the school district that would’ve been close to last year’s tax levy.”

Swartzentruber said that the legislature’s inability to pass the SSA rate before its self-imposed deadline caused the district to hold off on several aspects of the budgetary process, including negotiations with staff concerning wages for next school year, as the district was waiting to receive clarity. Following Tuesday’s vote, he expects the district will have just enough time to update the levy rate for the second public hearing likely to be held April 28th.

Mid-Prairie’s tax levy was initially set to increase by five cents, but Swartzentruber said that the district was hoping to return the rate as close to the current $13.10 levy as possible.

The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Kim Reynolds to sign into law.