A 3% increase in state aid for public school funding approved by the Iowa Legislature is a step in the right direction, according to Pella Schools Superintendent Greg Ebeling, as they begin to discuss their budgeting process for the upcoming fiscal year.

Ebeling says he hopes that starts a trend of more sustainable numbers for school districts into the future, as many of them run on a 3% increase in their general funds annually due to salary costs and increases in their programming and other needs — which have been strained further by supply chain issues and inflation in the current fiscal year.

“I’d love to have consistent three percent-plus in the SSA for several years, because that would help us,” Ebeling says. “We’ve been below three percent for many, many years, and it’s kind of taking a toll on our budget.”

The budget process continues with teacher salary negotiations and setting those increases, which will be followed by additional presentations and public hearings in March.