[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7202-7203]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 GRADE-A: GOVERNMENT RESERVATION ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATION 
           ACT--ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF MILITARY FAMILIES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 3, 2001

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, today 21 of my bipartisan colleagues and I are 
introducing a bill--entitled the GRADE-A Act, the Government 
Reservation Accelerated Development for Education Act. This is major 
legislation intended to improve education around the nation.
  In the average $10 million American school district, $9.3 million are 
raised from state and local taxes. This system works well when the 
children attending the local school live on property subject to local 
tax.
  This system does not work well when the federal government houses 
many children on land not subject to tax--such as a military base or 
Indian reservation. In these schools, the children report to class 
without financial backing--too many of these kids and the school 
district can go bankrupt.
  For many years, the federal government has made payments through a 
program called ``Impact Aid,'' intended to mitigate the impact of the 
federal presence on local schools.
  Between 1950 and 1969, the Impact Aid Program was fully funded. Since 
that time the funding level has not kept pace with the amount required 
to cover the Federal Government's tax obligation. In Fiscal Year 2001, 
the program will pay only 46% of the total amount required to cover the 
cost of the two formula driven provisions of the Impact Aid Program--
Section 8002 (Federal Property) and 8003 (Federal Connected Children).
  While school administrators and teachers across the country 
appreciate Impact Aid payments, they are usually paid late and fail to 
cover the cost of the children who enter school. For example, the 
Highland Park, Illinois, school district pays approximately $11,000 a 
year to educate a student. The Impact Aid program provides just $500 
per child. Local taxpayers living on civilian property must

[[Page 7203]]

then pay the extra $10,500 per year to educate that child. Too many of 
such children entering a school can bankrupt a whole school district.
  This nearly happened in North Chicago, Illinois. This community is 
home to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center where 50,000 naval 
recruits are trained annually. Hundreds of children from military 
housing came into the local school district each year. Several years 
ago, North Chicago's district 187 nearly went bankrupt under the weight 
of children coming to school from property that cannot be taxed. Impact 
aid payments had been later and inadequate. Thanks to the work of my 
predecessor, Congressman John Porter, this school system was saved 
through additional appropriations. Now, this bill will help all schools 
in the nation to welcome and educate military and other federally-
housed children.
  GRADE-A would alter the current status of two sections of the Impact 
Aid program, making them into an entitlement program. The goal of this 
legislation is to improve federal impact aid for military dependents 
and other children living on federal lands. Impact Aid was created in 
1950 when Congress recognized the obligation of the Federal Government 
to assist school districts and communities that experience a loss in 
their local property tax base due to the presence of the Federal 
Government. To offset this revenue loss to public school districts due 
to the tax-exempt status of the Federal Government, Congress 
established the Impact Aid Program.
  GRADE-A would ensure the effective delivery of Impact Aid by creating 
an Impact Aid Trust Fund to guarantee that local school districts are 
able to offer the best education to all students, whether they are of 
military parents or civilians. It guarantees prompt payment to schools 
without needless waits or bureaucracy. Under GRADE-A, Section 8002 of 
the current Impact Aid Law would become an entitlement, mandating that 
the local school districts receive the full value of the federal land 
which has been taken off the tax rolls.
  GRADE-A would also turn Section 8003, the Basic Support Payments, of 
the current Impact Aid law into an entitlement program. GRADE-A 
mandates that according to a pre-existing weighted formula, each school 
district receives full payment for each federally connected child. 
Currently, additional funding is provided in this section for special 
education children. Section 8003(d) under GRADE-A would now mandate 
that each school district receive all the monies currently granted 
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for each Impact 
Aid child.
  GRADE-A honors our commitment to military families and other 
families, especially American Indians. It guarantees that those 
families who serve to protect our freedom and in turn protected by the 
federal government.

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