The superintendent of the Davenport schools is in trouble with the state of Iowa. Tuesday the School Budget Review Committee denied Art Tate's request to spend more than state law allows for his district, and Wednesday the Iowa Department of Education filed an ethics complaint with the Board of Educational Examiners.
Department spokeswoman, Staci Hupp, says the school budget review committee heard Tate's request to spend 1.6 million dollars to offset what he says in an unfair, decades-old, state law that allows many districts to spend up to 175 dollars more per student than Davenport.
"There was some empathy expressed yesterday but the bottom line seemed to be with the committee that when there is an intentional violation of the law, no intention to stop violating the law, they cannot support that."
The committee says it's up to the Iowa legislature to change the school spending formula, and that's where Davenport should go for relief.
The executive director of the Board of Educational Examiners cannot confirm that a complaint has been filed or who it might be against. She says usually the board tries to resolve cases within six months.
