Posted on: Thursday, April 10, 2003
Schools fear federal aid cut
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Congress and the Bush administration are at odds over a federal program that helps Hawai'i and other states with schools that serve large numbers of students from military families.
The Bush administration wants to eliminate federal money for about 900,000 students who are military dependents but live off base or whose parents work on federal property but live elsewhere. The change could save the government $173 million.
But House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to restore the money, and other lawmakers are working to increase spending for the program, known as impact aid, as Congress drafts the budget for next fiscal year.
Hawai'i, which has a single statewide public school system, serves more than 30,000 students from military families. The state is expecting $41 million in impact aid this fiscal year, and could lose $11 million next year if Congress accepts the Bush administration's recommendation. Most of the impact aid in Hawai'i is used for teacher salaries and benefits.
"We appreciate every dollar we can get,'' said Shannon Ajifu of the state Board of Education, one of several Hawai'i education officials who, along with legislators, participated in a teleconference yesterday with Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i.
Since 1950, the federal government has provided impact aid to school districts that serve students from military bases or Indian reservations, which are exempt from local property taxes, a major source of revenue that goes to schools.
Congress approved about $1.2 billion in impact aid this year for 1,300 school districts across the country. The Bush administration argues the money should be directed primarily at students who live on Indian reservations and those with a parent on active military duty.
With public support for the military strong because of the war with Iraq, Abercrombie said he hoped it would be easier to get Congress to agree to military related spending.
"We intend to try to use this empathy," he said.
