Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) introduced legislation to improve funding for schools in military and tribal communities—including Oak Harbor, Ferndale, Marysville.  This funding is designated for school districts that educate a significant number of federally connected children through the Impact Aid program.

“Impact Aid funding is never guaranteed, often not paid in full, and rarely paid in a timely manner. My legislation would require the Department of Education to fully reimburse Impact Aid school districts in a timely manner to help remove the guess work when they create their budgets,” Rep. Larsen said. "Teachers, students and their families are the ones who suffer as a result. That is unfair and I am working to ensure schools get the help they need when they need it."

“Congressman Larsen’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.”

Public schools are required by law to accept all children from military families, Indian reservations or other federal establishments. Families in federal housing, however, do not pay local property taxes on this land, denying local schools of their traditional funding source. This puts a severe financial burden on school districts that educate a significant number of federally connected children, diminishing the overall quality of education, and increasing the funding burden on local taxpayers.

"Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line to protect our country. The least we can do is ensure a quality education for their children," Larsen said.

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