Iowa Senate Democrats have proposed a $125 million boost in education funding that, if approved, would take effect during the 2006 school year.

The plan goes along with much of Gov. Tom Vilsack’s proposed budget, unveiled on Feb. 1. Vilsack’s plan calls for an aggressive increase in education funding, and stresses early childhood education programs, raising teacher pay and reducing in class sizes.

Senate Democrats share the governor’s priorities, proposing to spend $39 million on education programs for young children, $56 million to increase teacher salaries and $30 million to reduce class sizes.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, praised the governor’s initiative on childhood education programs.

“Research clearly demonstrates how important early development for children under age 5 can be,” Quirmbach said. “The brain develops extraordinarily during early childhood.”

Quirmbach, associate professor of economics, said increased spending on preschools and childhood health and nutrition programs will strengthen a student’s academic performance later in life.

He also supported the other goals of Vilsack’s initiative, and said, “I certainly hope we can move on class size reduction as well as teacher salary.”

Democrats plan to pay for the increase in education spending by dipping into general funds as well as using revenue from sales and income tax, he said.

Sen. Daryl Beale, D-Fort Dodge, said Vilsack’s early childhood education plans will be a major priority for Democrats in the weeks to come.

“We’ve definitely endorsed most of Gov. Vilsack’s ideas,” Beale said, “But the specifics are still in subcommittees.”

Beale, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said he expects nearly universal Democratic support in the Senate for the initiatives once they are pulled out of committee and brought to the floor.

Sen. Bob Brunkhorst, R-Waverly, also a member of the Senate Education Committee, said GOP legislators disagree with some of Vilsack’s priorities.

Brunkhorst said Republicans would give parents of preschool students tax breaks rather than provide preschools with additional funding.

“Democrats want to give grants to preschools, which will force preschools to beg the government for money,” he said. “We want to give right to the parents, so the preschools won’t have to beg.”

He also said the state would also aid parents with the cost of tutors under the Republican plan.

Republican legislators will focus on keeping science and math teachers in the classroom rather than using their expertise in other fields, he said.

Vocational teachers often find more lucrative opportunities outside of the teaching profession, creating a personnel shortage in Iowa schools, he said. To keep these skilled teachers from finding work elsewhere, he said GOP lawmakers are considering alternatives, such as pay differentials, that would give vocational teachers more reason to stay in the classroom.

Iowa State Education Association President Linda Nelson praised the Democrats’ plan for education funding.

“The state needs to bump up teachers’ beginning pay,” she said. “Since last year, the state of Iowa has slipped from 34th to 38th in beginning salary.”

According to the National Education Associaton, the average teacher salary in Iowa for the 2003-04 school year was $39,432. The national average for that same year was $46,276.

Nelson said a rise in beginning pay would help the state replace experienced educators nearing retirement with qualified younger teachers. She also praised state lawmakers’ proposals for expanding early childhood development and reducing class sizes.

Jody Klaver, principal of Wilson Beardshear Preschool in Ames, said she is optimistic about the Senate’s emphasis on early childhood education. Wilson Beardshear works with 150 3- to 5-year-old children, and Klaver said the proposed extra funding would especially benefit children with learning disabilities.

“I think the proposed funding is a great thing,” she said.