Hunter
10/13/23
The state Department of Education released figures on Thursday regarding the first year of the Education Savings Account system, which gives students an allowance to attend private schools.
18,893 Students First education savings accounts were approved by the Sept. 30 program close date. At roughly $7600 per student, that translates to over 143.5 million dollars.
Polk County leads the state with 3179 approved applications; Linn County had 1344 and Johnson had 585.
Enrollment will be confirmed through the state’s certified enrollment process, which schools are required to report by this Sunday. Details about ESA program participants will be available after certified school enrollment numbers are finalized in December, per the department’s standard practice.
Governor Kim Reynolds spearheaded the ESA initiative, and vowed in July that any applicant who applied and met the guidelines would be approved. Based on the initial projections, the cost overrun in the first year alone is approximately 40.4 million dollars.
Education groups decried the ESA system, saying that it takes money out of the public school system, and would not help lower income families as promised because tuitions at private schools typically exceed the amount of the vouchers.
Earlier this year, Mike Beranek, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said that unlike the public school system, the ESA program seems to have an unlimited budget.