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Impact Aid in Oklahoma
By Billie Jordan, OASIS Executive Director and Steven Crawford, OASIS Associate Director Impact Aid is a federal education program that reimburses school districts for a portion of lost revenue due to the presence of non-taxable Federal property within the district boundaries. Impact Aid funding is direct, locally controlled and flexible, allowing district leaders to target funds supporting all students, wherever the needs are greatest. Oklahoma has more school districts receiving Impact Aid than any state in the nation. Currently 33 Oklahoma districts receive approximately $1.8 million in Impact Aid 7002 funds and 264 districts receive approximately $35 million in Section 7003 funds, based on federal property in their district, the number of students who live on Federal property or whose parents work on Federal property. This includes military families, children residing in Indian homes or other Federal housing. The Oklahoma Association Serving Impacted Schools, OASIS, assists school districts with the application process, provides support and information, and advocates for Impact Aid. OASIS staff and board members travel to Washington DC twice a year to attend the National Association of Impacted Schools (NAFIS) Conference and visit the offices of all Oklahoma legislators to discuss Impact Aid legislation and funding, In late October, NAFIS reported that Senate Democrats released nine of their 12 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) bill. This bill includes an almost $65 million increase for Impact Aid—a $1.968 million increase for Federal Property and a $62.758 million increase for Basic Support, with level funding for all other parts of the program. This is higher than the package the House passed in September—the House provided a $51 million increase for Impact Aid ($50 million for Basic Support and $1 million for Federal Property)—and is closer to the
NAFIS request of a $102 million increase. This is encouraging progress and will hopefully lead to a final bipartisan package that includes significant increases for Impact Aid. Unfortunately, the new compromise bill does not include any funding for K-12 school infrastructure, including the Impact Aid construction program. NAFIS and OASIS will continue to support expansion of the Impact Aid construction program so that more Oklahoma schools are eligible to apply.
The Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act, which allows school districts to use the same student count they used on the previous year’s application again on the application they submit on January 31, is still pending. While this would allow an additional year to use FY19 child counts, it has not passed and currently districts are still required to use previously approved methods (student surveys and source checks) to complete their student count and application. If the legislation is approved and the guidelines change, OASIS and the Office of Impact Aid will notify districts. Another bill supported by NAFIS and OASIS is the Advancing Towards Impact Aid Full Funding Bill, which is gaining support in Washington. Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole, a longtime supporter of Impact Aid and recipient of the 2020 Friend of OASIS Award, has signed onto the bill and we hope that other Oklahoma representatives and senators will follow his lead in their support of the non-partisan bill to fully fund Impact Aid for the first time since 1969. Since districts currently receive less than 40% of the funding they would receive through property taxes if these federal properties remained on the tax rolls, fully funding the program would mean $48,561,733 million more dollars in Oklahoma! The work of OASIS is vital, and having a unified shared message to our elected officials in Washington keeps Impact Aid on their radar. OASIS corresponds regularly with those offices, coordinating with NAFIS to ensure that Oklahoma students attending federally impacted schools are represented. For more information about the work of OASIS or to become a member, go to www.oasisok.com, or call Billie Jordan at (918) 9312494 or Steven Crawford at (405) 301-5535. ■
