The Iowa Legislature opened the 2014 session of the 85th General Assembly with the modest goals of approving a budget and pursuing legislation on issues like Internet access, bullying and veteran support. During a Monday night meeting of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein says one of the legislative priorities he wants board members to focus on is Allowable Growth, which is now called “Supplemental Aid.” The concern is that the legislature will not set the rate for Supplemental Aid this session for the 2015-2016 school year.

Amstein encouraged the Board to contact area legislators and stress how not having a Supplement Aid rate established puts the Board in a difficult position trying to establish a budget. Another concern pertains to “Operational Sharing.” Amstein said last year lawmakers added some positions to Operational Sharing with other school districts, which in the past, was in a “descending” type of funding agreement. The legislature last year approved O-S for 5-years at 100-percent funding, he says, but now it appears they overlooked the cost of that. Amstein says he hopes during this session they can get that “straightened out so that it can possibly be of benefit to the Atlantic and other districts it might partner with.

The third area of concern Amstein has is getting the State-mandated tests aligned with the Iowa Core. He says it doesn’t make any sense the state-mandated tests don’t align with the Iowa Core teachers are required to administer to students and having them master.