Rural Schools Funding is Left Behind (12/21/2007)

Rural school funding once again fell victim to party politics in Washington. Lawmakers were proposing a long-term extension of the rural school funding, also known as county payments, as part of H.R. 6, the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN Energy) Act. Congress sent the bill to the President this week, but the proposed extension was one of many provisions set aside to ensure a majority of support for the various other energy provisions. Congress, once again, chose to abandon a long term expansion for the sake of other, higher-priority issues.

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 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 would under the new formula. The extension would have run through 2011.

Unfortunately, Republican opposition to a number of tax provisions within the bill stalled the progress. In order to gain additional support for a cloture vote in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid had many of the tax and other spending provisions removed from the bill. The Senate then passed the bill and sent it to the House for final approval. The House voted 314-100 on Tuesday to agree to the Senate version of the bill and send it to the President.

As such, the rural school funding that was authorized in the fiscal year 2007 continuing resolution, which has already expired, has not been renewed. This lack of funding will leave many rural school districts in financial crises by the spring. As was the case last year, if funding is not restored, a number of rural districts will have to either begin laying off employees, or shut down altogether.

Resources:
Geof Koss “House Sends Energy Bill to President's Desk,” Congress Now, December 18, 2007.
Author: SAS