(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA)
and John Thune (R-SD) introduced bipartisan legislation that would improve the
federal funding process for schools in tribal and military communities. Their
legislation, the Impact Aid Timely Repayment Act of 2011, expedites 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.
“As states continue to tighten their belts and try to do
more with less, making sure school districts in military and tribal communities
promptly get the federal support they need is critical to the success of our
students,” said Senator Murray. “This bipartisan
legislation would set a strict timeline for the completion of the funding
allocation process and will minimize the uncertainty school districts in
Washington state and across the country face when they look at their budgets
for each coming year. The sooner this funding is allocated, the sooner these
schools can hire more teachers, purchase more books and supplies, and improve
their students’ educational experience.”
“Many
school districts in South Dakota are forced to deal with significant delays in
receiving their Impact Aid payments,” said Senator Thune. “I’m pleased to
cosponsor legislation to help reduce this delay so that school districts in
South Dakota and across the country are better positioned to make important
budget decisions.”
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, many school districts
are still waiting for Impact Aid that was appropriated as long as five years
ago, forcing schools to tighten budgets and increase the burden on local
taxpayers.
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