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Red Lake School Board members attend Annual NAFIS Fall Conference - P7

Washington, DC- The Annual National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS) Fall Conference was held in Washington D.C. from September 20, 2014 through September 23, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill.

Four Red Lake School Board members were in attendance, including Board Chairman Michael Barrett, Vice-Chairman Robert McClain, Treasurer Roy Nelson and Director Chris Jourdain. Staff members Superintendent Anne Lundquist and Business Manager Willie Larson also attended.

According to their website, NAFIS is a non-profit, non-partisan corporation of school districts from throughout the United States, organized primarily to educate Congress on the importance of Impact Aid. Founded in 1973, the association works to ensure the needs of federally connected children are met with adequate federal funds. NAFIS represents children residing on Indian Lands, military children, children residing in low-rent housing projects, and children whose parents are civilian but work and/or live on federal property. NAFIS is governed by a board of directors elected from its membership. The association is located in Washington, D.C ., with a full time professional staff under the leadership of an executive director.

The purpose of Impact Aid is to provide formula grants to school districts burdened by the presence of nontaxable federal land and installations to make up for the lost revenues and additional costs associated with the federal presence. It is one of the few formula programs where Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) receive funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) rather than through their states.

Impact Aid was first signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1950 and amended many times since then. Originally, the program consisted of two separate laws - one for operating costs and one for construction - but the two laws were consolidated into Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1994.

There are five main categories of aid. Traditionally, these categories were identified by reference to their section numbers as they existed under the 1950 law.

The five categories consist of LEAs that:

1. Experience a substantial and continuing financial burden due to the acquisition of real property by the United States – Section 8002;

2. Educate children who reside on federal property and whose parents are employed on federal property – Section 8003;

3. Educate children whose parents are in the military services; children who reside on Indian trust/treaty land or land conveyed at any time under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; live in federally subsidized low-rent housing projects (not Section 8 housing) – Section 8003;

4. Educate heavy concentrations of children whose parents are civilian employees of the federal government and do not reside on federal property – Section 8003; or

5. Need special assistance with capital expenditures for construction activities because of the enrollments of substantial numbers of children

who reside on federal land - Section 8007.

Roughly 1,350 LEAs nationwide receive some kind of Impact Aid payment that enroll over 950,000 federally connected children, but with a total combined student enrollment of over 12 million children.

Sub-Groups of NAFIS include: Federal Property Schools Association,

Military Impacted Schools Association, National Indian Impacted Schools Association and Mid-to-Low-LOT School Districts.

For more information on Impact Aid, follow this link: http://media.wix.com/ugd/423d5a_df9e43bbbea84e2e80fb7834699618f9.pdf

For a full overview of Impact Aid, follow this link: http://media.wix.com/ugd/423d5a_743b26797dce41f69af0fdcceb489f6c.pdf

Conferences and workshop topics included the Basics of Impact Aid, Budget and Policy Priorities, Sequestration Roundtables, Legislative Updates and Election Forecasts, Financing Tomorrow's Impact Aid Schools Today, Impact Aid Application Tips and Tricks, Indian Lands, Education Roundtables, Capitol Hill Insights, Bill Marching Orders, and others.

On Tuesday, September 23rd, Red Lake School District members, along with Waubun, Mahnomen and Cass Lake Schools Districts, visited the offices of some members of congress throughout the day.

Waubun Schools representatives included, Board Member Kristie Havercamp, Superintendent Lisa Weber and Business Manager Michelle Heisler. Representing Mahnomen Schools was Superintendent Jeff Bisek. Board Member Rick Haaland represented the Cass Lake School District.

Since Congress was not in session at this time, meetings were conducted throughout the day with staff members from the respected members of Congress. Those offices visited included Senators Klobuchar and Frankin; and Representatives Walz, Paulsen, Kline, McCullum, Ellison, Bachmann, Peterson and Nolan.

 

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