2013-14

Urging the United States Congress to Prevent Spending Reductions to Impact Aid

REPRESENTATIVE CATHERINE MIRANDA (AZ) EDUCATION & CIVIL RIGHTS TASK FORCE

WHEREAS, President Harry S Truman signed Public Law 81-874 in 1950, which enacted the Impact Aid program into law;

WHEREAS, Impact Aid, the oldest elementary-secondary education program, is designed to reimburse local educational agencies for the loss of traditional revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property or Federal activities;

WHEREAS, existing property owners in affected local agencies already bear a significant burden in financial support of local educational agencies due to Federal acquisition of private lands; and

WHEREAS, the Impact Aid program provides direct reimbursement to local educational agencies for Indian lands, military bases, low rent housing, and other Federal property to make up lost tax revenue due to the non-taxable Federal ownership status and to assist with the basic educational needs of the students and schools.

WHEREAS, Impact Aid funding is of critical importance to the 1,192 school districts that receive basic support payments across the country; in 2011 over 12 million students were able to receive an education as a result of this funding, 950,000 of whom were federally connected; and

WHEREAS, the Budget Control Act of 2011 established sequestration to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget due to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction’s failure to reach a broader compromise;

WHEREAS, Impact Aid, as the only current-year funded education program, was cut immediately on March 1, 2013, by $67.5 million in the middle of the 2012-2013 school year;

WHEREAS, in response, Impact Aid recipient school districts have already cut transportation, delayed maintenance and technology upgrades, cut staff and professional development, early childhood and enrichment programs, and in some cases closed schools.

WHEREAS, any additional cuts to Impact Aid in Fiscal Year 2014 would have a detrimental impact on our local public school districts;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NHCSL strongly opposes sequestration as created by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and it’s negative affect on the Impact Aid Program; and advocates for the continuation of funding for this federal obligation to alleviate the local taxpayer burden caused by federal land ownership as has been the standard for more than sixty years; and requests the US Congress recognize the importance of the Impact Aid Program in ensuring that federally connected children receive a high-quality public education by fully funding the Impact Aid Program.

THIS RESOLUTION WAS ADOPTED AND RATIFIED ON NOVEMBER 16, 2013 AT THE NHCSL ANNUAL MEETING HELD IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

Sponsored by: Representative Catherine Miranda (AZ)
Co-Sponsored by: Senator Anna Tovar (AZ)