(Washington,
D.C.) – Last night, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation
that would improve the federal funding process for schools in tribal and
military communities. Senator Murray’s legislation, the Impact Aid Timely
Repayment Act of 2010, works to expedite the Impact Aid allocation process by
requiring the Department of Education to make Impact Aid payments to schools
within two years of funds being appropriated. Impact Aid funding is provided to
school districts that educate a significant number of federally-connected
children, such as those that live on military bases or reservations. Currently,
schools districts are still waiting for Impact Aid that was appropriated as
long as five years ago, forcing schools to tighten budgets and increasing the
burden on local taxpayers.
“As
state budgets tighten and schools struggle to keep teachers in the classroom,
making sure federal support finds its way into the hands of local school
districts in a timely manner is critical,” said Senator Murray. “This legislation
would speed up the allocation process so that school districts across
Washington state and the country aren’t left guessing about their budgets,
allowing them to hire more teachers, buy more books and supplies, and make the
educational experience better for their students.”
“Senator
Murray’s legislation will go a long way toward relieving financial uncertainty
for school districts with a high number of military dependents,” said Oak Harbor Superintendent
Rick Schulte. “About
54 percent of Oak Harbor students have at least one parent who is active-duty
military.”
“It will take the guesswork out of predicting whether we will or will not
get a needed payment three, four, five or even six years after Congress allocated
the money,” Schulte said. “If we know the money is going to
be there, it can make the difference whether we lay off teachers or not – and
that directly impacts the students.”
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