House votes to pull plug on "Secure Rural Schools" program
The Associated Press reports that the House of Representatives has rejected a Senate-backed measure extending a multiyear program of payments to rural counties hurt by federal logging cutbacks. The House removed the provision from a huge spending bill after the White House objected, arguing the timber program should be phased out. A bill approved by the Senate includes a four-year, $2.1 billion reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, commonly known as “county payments.” The timber law provides hundreds of millions of dollars to states, mostly in the West, that once depended on federal timber sales to pay for schools, libraries and other services in rural areas. The law helps pay for schools and services in 700 counties in 39 states. Without the money, teachers and law enforcement officers in rural districts throughout the country could lose their jobs, lawmakers said. "It is outrageous that the president is willing to borrow $465 million for foreign aid, the majority of which is going to the Republic of Georgia, and $700 billion to bail out his Wall Street buddies, but he is turning his back on schools, law enforcement and other vital public services in rural communities," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho wrote, “It is important to understand that these funds are not handouts. Far from it. These funds are critical to the basic education of thousands of Idaho students. In fact, fully one-third of the budget for some Idaho schools comes from this program. They simply cannot absorb the loss of this program.”
Associated Press, 10/24/08, by Mathew Daly
[Editor’s Note: NSBA submitted a letter to Congress, below, calling for funding for the Secure Rural Schools program, for school repairs and modernization, and for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance program, as well as for an exemption for some school districts from requirements of recently adopted federal regulations of 403(b) regulations, or at least a delay in the starting date for the requirements. More information on these other issues is available at the other links below.]
NSBA letter to Congress re. funding
BoardBuzz on school construction bill
NSBA School Law pages on McKinney-Vento
NSBA School Law pages on 403(b) regulations