Impact aid surveys due Oct. 31

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Families living on base with children enrolled at Bedford High School should complete the 2018-2019 “First Count” Federal Impact Aid Survey for federally-connected students no later than Oct. 31.

The Federal Impact Aid Program, managed by the U.S. Department of Education, provides assistance to local school districts with a significant number of children living on military bases or other federal properties.

“This is an important responsibility for Hanscom families with students attending Bedford High School,” said Col. Chad Ellsworth, installation commander. “I encourage every parent and guardian living on the installation who gets a survey to take this seriously and return it before the Oct. 31 deadline.”

Information gathered through the survey process determines Bedford’s eligibility for impact aid funding. The forms are confidential and the information collected is available only to school and federal officials.

The program also applies to children whose parents serve in the military or are employed on eligible federal properties but do not live on federal property, such as those living in the local community.

The in-lieu-of-tax program ensures funding for some of the educational costs of federally-connected students. It also supports local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or that have experienced increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally-connected children.

Rather than act as a “special stipend,” the program replaces a portion of what other individuals would pay in taxes and is used to fund public education in the area, said Laurel Wironen, Hanscom’s school liaison specialist.

“Bedford High and other local schools count on Hanscom families to return completed surveys to ensure the district has the resources needed to educate our children,” Wironen said.

Wironen added that the information collected by the aid surveys helps to determine the amount of funding a school receives.

“The surveys may seem insignificant, but they are critical,” she said.

To ensure accurate reporting, Hanscom families who got a survey but believe they do not fit into one of the Federal Impact Aid categories listed on the form should contact Wironen for assistance.

Wironen added that the surveys are subject to audit by the Department of Education and that Bedford Public Schools are complying with federal law when sending them out.

Impact Aid covers a wide variety of expenses for school districts, including teacher and teacher aide salaries, textbooks, computers and other equipment, after-school programs, remedial tutoring, advanced placement classes and special enrichment programs.

Completed forms should be returned to Bedford High School by Oct. 31. Families may also email their forms to laurel.wironen@us.af.mil. For any questions or concerns regarding the form, Wironen can also be reached at 781-225-1482.

For more information about Federal Impact Aid, visit the following websites: Department of Education Impact Aid at www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/impactaid/index.html, Military Impacted Schools Association at www.militaryimpactedschoolsassociation.org or National Association of Federally Impacted Schools at www.nafisdc.org.