A bipartisan committee of 12 Iowa legislators released a plan last week that strongly encourages the state’s small school districts to share more resources and sets the stage for establishing minimum sizes for both districts and high schools.
The plan, expected to become the basis of new legislation, stops short of requiring districts to consolidate.
But it does call for requiring small districts and high schools to find ways to share resources, such as academic programs or business offices, and recommends appointing another committee that would propose minimum sizes for both districts and schools.
The state would also ease property-tax burdens and increase its share of K-12 funding, under the plan.
A spokesman for Gov. Tom Vilsack said the Democrat is reserving judgment on the plan until he sees the legislation that is expected to be based on it later this spring.
