[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 30, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1696-H1697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1430
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3421) to provide adequate school facilities within Yosemite
National Park, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3421
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Yosemite National Park
Education Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The three elementary schools serving the children of
employees of Yosemite National Park are served by the Bass
Lake Joint Union Elementary School District and the Mariposa
Unified School District.
(2) The schools are in remote mountainous areas and long
distances from other educational and administrative
facilities of the two local educational agencies.
(3) Because of their remote locations and relatively small
number of students, schools serving the children of employees
of the Park provide fewer services in more basic facilities
than the educational services and facilities provided to
students that attend other schools served by the two local
educational agencies.
(4) Because of the long distances involved and adverse
weather and road conditions that occur during much of the
school year, it is impractical for the children of employees
of the Park who live within or near the Park to attend other
schools served by the two local educational agencies.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to provide supplemental funding and
other services that are necessary to assist the State of
California or local educational agencies in California in
providing educational services for students attending schools
located within the Park.
SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.
(a) Authority To Provide Funds.--For fiscal years 2003
through 2007, the Secretary may provide funds to the Bass
Lake Joint Union Elementary School District and the Mariposa
Unified School District for educational services to students
who are dependents of persons engaged in the administration,
operation, and maintenance of the Park or students who live
at or near the Park upon real property of the United States.
(b) Limitation on Use of Funds.--Payments made by the
Secretary under this section may not be used for new
construction, construction contracts, or major capital
improvements, and may be used only to pay public employees
for services otherwise authorized by this Act.
(c) Limitation on Amount of Funds.--Payments made under
this section shall not exceed the lesser of $750,000 in any
fiscal year or the amount necessary to provide students
described in subsection (a) with educational services that
are normally provided and generally available to students who
attend public schools elsewhere in the State of California.
(d) Adjustment of Payments.--Subject to subsection (c), the
Secretary is authorized to adjust payments made under this
section if the State of California or the appropriate local
educational agencies do not continue to provide funding for
educational services at Park schools at per student levels
that are equivalent to or greater than those provided in the
fiscal year prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(e) Source of Payments.--
(1) Authorized sources.--Except as provided in paragraph
(2), in order to make payments under this section, the
Secretary may use funds available to the National Park
Service from appropriations, donations, or fees.
(2) Exceptions.--Funds from the following sources may not
be used to make payments under this section:
(A) Fees authorized and collected under the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 et seq.).
(B) The recreational fee demonstration program under
section 315 of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (as contained in section
101(c) of Public Law 104-134; 16 U.S.C. 460l-6a note).
(C) The national park passport program established under
section 602 of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of
1998 (16 U.S.C. 5992).
(D) Emergency appropriations for Yosemite flood recovery.
(f) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act, the
following definitions apply:
(1) Local educational agencies.--The term ``local
educational agencies'' has the meaning given that term in
section 9101(26) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965.
(2) Educational services.--The term ``educational
services'' means services that may include maintenance and
minor upgrades of facilities and transportation to and from
school.
(3) Park.--The term ``Park'' means Yosemite National Park.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from the
Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3421, which I introduced, would authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to provide supplemental funding and other
services necessary to assist local school districts in providing
educational services for students attending three schools located
within Yosemite National Park.
The three schools in question are Yosemite Valley, which serves 46
students in K through eighth grades; El Portel Elementary, which serves
50 students
[[Page H1697]]
in seven grades; and Wawona Elementary, which serves 20 students in
grades K through 8 with only one teacher.
All three schools represent those one-room schools of yesteryear.
Mr. Speaker, California schools are unique in that operating funds
for schools are based on an average daily attendance. Since the
devastating 1997 Merced River flood, there has been a dramatic
reduction in the number of park employees and thus fewer school
children attending these schools. With fewer and fewer children
attending these schools, fewer State dollars are committed. The result
is that the superintendent for Yosemite National Park and the
concessionaire serving park visitors are attracting less than qualified
candidates to work in the park because families are not provided with
adequate schools.
Meanwhile, while the Federal funding sources such as Impact Aid and
PILT, which is Payment In Lieu of Taxes, are made available to Mariposa
and Madera Counties where these schools exist and through which money
is distributed, the reality is very few dollars are actually used to
fund these classrooms. In light of these realities, I was able to
secure special funding in the amount of $111,000 in FY 2002 Interior
appropriations bills for these schools. However, going to the
appropriators every fall for this critical assistance is not the most
productive approach.
Therefore, for the reasons I have outlined, the solution before the
House today is the best long-term approach to this problem.
Mr. Speaker, during subcommittee and committee considerations, I made
a number of changes to H.R. 3421 that address issues raised by the
administration, members of the Committee on Resources, and the
Committee on Education and the Workforce. For example, the bill makes
clear that funds made available by the Secretary under H.R. 3421 will
not go towards new construction, construction contracts or major
capital improvements, and thus would be limited to general upkeep,
maintenance, and classroom teaching. I do not think that we should
stand by and permit children of the Park Service and concessionaire
employees from being deprived of their education simply because their
parents have chosen to work in Yosemite National Park.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3421 as amended is supported by the administration
and the minority and majority of the Committee on Resources. I urge my
colleagues to support H.R. 3421, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3421, sponsored by my
distinguished colleague and chairman, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Radanovich), authorizes the National Park Service to provide funds
and services to supplement the educational services and facilities
provided to the children of Yosemite National Park employees and the
park concessionaire at three small local schools located within the
park.
The legislation provides a very unique arrangement for funding local
schools. As such, a number of issues and problems with the bill as you
have heard were raised during a December 2001 hearing on this bill. In
fact, while the National Park Service expressed sympathy with the
purpose of the bill, they, on behalf of the administration, initially
opposed the measure. I appreciate the willingness of the gentleman from
California (Mr. Radanovich) to make a number of changes requested by
the minority, including deleting the use of entrance and user fees to
pay for the program, limiting funds to operations and services, and
eliminating the authority of the Secretary to assume operation of the
schools. There were also negotiations with the Committee on Education
and the Workforce which shares jurisdiction on this matter with the
Committee on Resources.
As the result of those negotiations, the bill was further amended to
include among other things a limit on the authorization of funds to 5
years and a cap on the funds of the lesser of $750,000 or the amount
necessary to provide students with normal educational services.
Mr. Speaker, as I noted earlier, this legislation provides a unique
arrangement for funding what should be a local responsibility. However,
with the changes that have been made to the bill, I have no objection
to its consideration and passage today.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3421, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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