After weeks of delays, the House finally got to work on a bill to decide how much money to invest in our kids in public schools next year.

Led by our experts on the House Education Committee who have been listening to educators and parents since session opened, we proposed a new investment of $300 million for the 484,000 kids in public schools.

It’s the minimum investment needed to do what Iowans want: guarantee every kid in Iowa gets a quality education, regardless of where they live. It also gives public schools the flexibility to meet the needs of their students. Some may need to reduce class sizes or expand mental health support for students. Other districts may use it to strengthen key academic programs, raise pay for educators, or reduce their reliance on property taxes.

After a decade of low funding and 134 public school closures in Iowa, this investment is needed and fiscally responsible. It’s also a matter of fairness.

Last session, the Governor and Republican lawmakers got their voucher bill passed into law. While Iowans were overwhelmingly opposed to vouchers, the special interests won out. The cost of vouchers has already come in higher than expected. In just the first two years, private schools are going to receive more than $300 million of state tax dollars even though there are just 36,000 kids in private schools.

Here’s the bottom line: public school kids deserve the same new $300 million state investment given to private schools. And that’s the absolute minimum, especially since private schools are serving just a fraction of the number of students in public schools.

At the end of debate on the school funding bill, Republicans cut our proposal in half and said there just isn’t any more money. With the state running a huge budget surplus, there is plenty of money to keep the state budget in balance and make this responsible investment in public schools.

Unfortunately, the Governor wants even less and Republican leaders in the Senate still haven’t said a word about it. It’s clear politics is more important to them than actually funding public schools, even though it’s a top priority for Iowans.

It’s so frustrating and I don’t blame Iowans one bit for feeling like politicians in Des Moines just aren’t listening to them. I’ve heard from so many people who grew up in Iowa like me- that it just doesn’t seem like the same state any more, especially when it comes to our commitment to public schools. Honestly, I can’t disagree with them.

I know we can do better and I’m not giving up. The solution is pretty simple: put people over politics.

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Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, is the Iowa House Minority Leader.