DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Republican-majority Iowa House have granted committee-level approval to a small funding increase for schools, but leaders in the Democratic-controlled Senate say they want to provide more dollars. The House education committee Wednesday approved an increase in schools funding for the upcoming academic year. The legislation is based on Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget proposal. It would provide an increase of about $35 million in general support for K-12 public schools.

In all, Branstad’s budget provides about $100 million in new schools funding, much of that earmarked for specific programs. Rep. Ron Jorgensen, a Sioux City Republican who chairs the House education committee, said this was what the state could afford.

But Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames who chairs the Senate education committee, called the proposal “inadequate.”