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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - School districts provide programs and purchase supplies for their schools with funding provided by local property taxes and business taxes. For some school districts, it poses a challenge to meet the No Child Left Behind Act because of boundaries that encroach into federally owned land that is exempt from federal and state tax.
In 1950, a federal program known as Federal Impact Aid was created to assist local school districts who have lost property tax revenue due to tax-exempt federal property and enrollment of federally connected children including children living on Native American reservations.
“Essentially, the program reimburses schools for money lost due to no property tax paid by families that live on base, or federally owned land,” said Thomas Cruz, Combat Center school liaison. “It provides the schools with the funding they need to meet the educational needs of its students.”
Funding for this program is not automatic. In order for a school to receive funding, 20 percent of the students going to the schools in the district must prove they’re federally connected.
“It is incredibly important for parents to sign and return these applications,” said Tom Baumgarten, Interim School Superintendent, Morongo Unified School District.
Locally, families living aboard the Combat Center, civilian employees working for the federal government including those at Joshua Tree National Park, and families living on Native American reservations must fill out an application for this program.
Starting in October, applications will be sent home with children in the Morongo Basin Unified School District for parents to fill out. Applications are not due until Jan. 31, 2015, but it is requested that parents return them as soon as possible.
“The funding goes into a unit fund for the district,” Baumgarten said. “Those funds are then used for a variety of programs that include maintaining facilities and providing students with different academic courses.”
In order to continue providing students of the Morongo Basin Unified School District with the education and resources they deserve, full participation is paramount.
For more information on the Federal Impact Aid program, visit http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/impactaid/whatisia.html.
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2014 21:14 |
| Story ID: | 144687 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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