DES MOINES, Iowa — On Tuesday evening the Des Moines School Board will hold its first meeting of 2025, and they’ll once again request the maximum amount of state funding for dropout prevention — a total of $16 million.

$12 million of this funding comes from the state, with Des Moines Public Schools contributing $4 million from its general fund.

The amount of money provided is determined by a formula from the state. This takes into account enrollment, per pupil cost (which is $7,800 per student) times five percent, and comes from a share of property taxes.

The funds are meant to help prevent students from deciding to end their education and covers many areas, from school safety to chronic absenteeism, healthy social interaction and conflict prevention between students, and helping students who may be falling behind catch up.

“Flex academy teachers, just to take that as an example,” said Shashank Aurora, DMPS Chief Financial Officer. “Our core are math, science, English, and social studies. Each of the high schools has one specialty teacher in each of these subjects. So, four teachers in each high school, five high schools are 20 teachers that are being funded through that. The main intent is for students who are failing to ensure that they don’t fail and can get a passing grade.”

Aurora also said ensuring student success “requires additional effort and investment from the staff to ensure the students complete high school. Enough studies have proven that the more educated the youth are, the more money they earn long-term.”

Historically, DMPS has received the maximum funding from the state for dropout prevention.

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