POCAHONTAS — Prairie Lakes AEA joined its fellow Area Education Agencies statewide to present its 2024-25 budget to the Iowa Board of Education on April 26.

At the session, each AEA had a 30-minute timeframe to present their budgets and answer questions. PLAEA Chief Administrator Dr. Dan Mart and Chief Financial Officer Michelle Dowd represented the agency at the presentation. At the end of the session, the state board unanimously approved PLAEA’s budget for the upcoming year.

Historically, the Iowa Department of Education director would present the statewide AEA budget to the board.

“We were pleased to have the opportunity to present PLAEA’s proposed budget firsthand to the state Board of Education,” said Mart. “As an agency, we will continue to work hard to provide the best-possible services to children and families throughout our region as we manage the implementation of HF2612.”

In March, HF 2612 was signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds, bringing about a significant impact on funding for Iowa’s AEAs and the programs and services they provide to public school districts and accredited non-public schools.

The nine Area Education Agencies are funded through the school aid formula with funding generated at the school district level through a mix of state aid and property tax. Since the AEAs have no taxing authority, each school district generates property taxes for the AEAs through the school levy rate. In essence, the state aid and property tax funding flows from the school district to the AEA. However, school districts do not pay the AEAs directly; instead the Department of Management adjusts school district payments to account for the AEA funding amount.

Area Education Agency services are grouped into three areas: Special Education, Media Services, and Educational Services and receive funding for these three services based on the enrollments of both the public school district and the accredited non public schools. HF 2612 dictates that 60% of the media service and educational services funds go to the public school districts’ general fund for the 2024-25 school year. Districts may choose to purchase services from Prairie Lakes AEA or use the funds in a manner determined by the local school board.