Rural Schools Funding In Danger Again

Rural school funding is becoming an issue once again as Congress winds down for the year. Last year, Congress labored on various proposals to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act, also referred to simply as county payments. In lieu of a long-term proposal, Congress passed a brief one-year extension of the program. Congress is now working on a three-year proposal, but is hitting a few roadblocks along the way.



The county payment program provides funding for more than 700 counties in forty-one states for operating schools in hard to reach rural areas. California, Oregon and Washington are the biggest beneficiaries of the program, a point which has drawn some ire from the other 38 states who participate. Congressional leaders have created a new proposal that would restructure the funding formula, directing funding to the neediest counties. However, because rural school districts in the big three states depend heavily on the government funds, the new proposal includes a transition period that will slowly redistribute the funding, in hopes of preventing a hard financial hit to districts that currently receive more funding than they will under the new formula. The extension would run through 2011.

The proposal is part of H.R. 6, the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN Energy) Act. The House passed the bill last January, and the Senate initially passed its version in June. Currently, the House has signed off on certain Senate changes, but the bill has to get through the Senate a final time before it can move forward. Yesterday, even after a failed cloture vote in the morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NY) was able to get the bill through by a vote of 86-8, after dropping certain provisions that Republicans opposed. So, because of the changes Reid was forced to make, the bill will head back to the House next week before it can be sent to the President.

Resources:
Sarah D. Sparks, “Rural School Support Hangs on Energy Bill,” Education Daily, December 14, 2007.
Geof Koss, “Pared-Back Energy Bill Clears Senate,” Congress Now, December 13, 2007.
Author: SAS