Enrollment-calculation trapdoor will squeeze Iowa’s public schools

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2201, the school funding bill, into law on Feb. 26. The 2% increase in per-pupil funding for the 2026-27 school year works out to $160 more per student. When the decline in public enrollment is taken into account, it’s a statewide increase of $17 million from last year’s allotment.