DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa State’s Students First Education Savings Account (ESA) program is entering its second school year.
In July, the Iowa State Department of Education announced that it had approved over 30,000 applications to allow families to send their children to accredited private schools using state funds.
One of the private schools benefiting from the state law is Holy Family Catholic Schools in Dubuque. School Superintendent Phillip Bormann said the program has “catapulted” the district as it now reaches its third consecutive year of growth. Before 2021, Bormann said, the district had experienced 20 years of declining enrollment.
The five-school system is expected to serve approximately 1,700 students in the 2024-2025 year. Holy Family Catholic Schools estimates that more than 900 students received an ESA this school year, an increase of at least 70% over 2023-2024.
Public school districts are monitoring enrollment numbers and studying the impact of the ESA program. Dubuque Community School District reported minimal impact last school year, with the system losing less than 1% of its students. Chief Communications Officer Mike Cyze said the district won’t know the impact of the ESA program this year until official enrollment numbers are released in October.
Until the results are in, Cyze insisted that the district views its relationship with private schools as a partnership.
“I think we are really fortunate in Dubuque that we have had a good relationship with our private school partners for a long time and that it will continue to be that way,” Cyze explained.
He further pointed out how the ESA program affects resource allocation in the district.
“We had to look at how some of those funds are being spent (…) and make sure we’re managing those resources well,” Cyze said. “The real core of our strategic work in the district is making sure we’re putting the student experience first.”
All rights reserved.