Chapter 17: Iowa

Iowa’s schools were originally created by each community’s members when enough money had been raised to pay a teacher, provide a school, and purchase essential books and supplies. In 1864, a new state governance system was established by the legislature, creating local school boards and defining local board methods of operation. In 1868, Iowa Judge Dillon determined that school districts have only those powers which are expressly granted or necessarily implied in governing statutes, also known as Dillon’s Rule.¹

At one time there were over 5,000 school districts in Iowa. In the 1950s, the legislature adopted a reorganization law that required all areas of the state to be in a school district offering a kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) education program, and reorganizing school districts so that no district had fewer than 300 pupils. School districts continued to be governed by local school boards, and operations of school districts were supported by property taxes. The method of fully financing school districts through property taxes remained in place until the mid-1960s. At that time, Iowa taxpayers sought the state’s assistance in reducing the local property tax burden.