Bedford High impact aid surveys due now

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HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Bedford High School sent families the 2013-2014 "First Count" Federal Impact Aid Survey for federally connected students. This survey is for both military and Department of Defense civilian families with children in local school districts. The surveys were due Oct. 31.

By completing this form, parents can make a difference to their child's education, according to Hanscom's School Liaison Officer Lisa Pizarro.

The "First Count" is a form that parents and guardians are asked to complete for each child that is enrolled in the Bedford School District. These forms are then used to determine Bedford's eligibility and funding through the Impact Aid Program. The information provided on the form is confidential and will be available only to school and federal officials.

Impact Aid is a federal program administered through the Department of Education. It provides assistance to local school districts with concentrations of children residing on military bases or other federal properties and, to a lesser extent, concentrations of children who have parents in the uniformed services or employed on eligible federal properties who do not live on federal property.

Impact Aid provides funding for a portion of the educational costs of federally-connected students. It is an in-lieu-of-tax program and is designed to assist 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.

It is not meant to be a "special stipend" because the parents are military, but instead, to replace what other individuals would pay in taxes and would be used to fund public education in the area, according to Pizarro.

"Schools depend on families to fill out the survey and return it to the child's school district so that district can continue to support the education of military children," she said. "Schools depend upon property taxes for funding, but state-funded schools with military families don't have that option. The survey helps determine, in part, how much funding the schools receive. It's a small piece, but it's an important piece."

She added that Bedford Public Schools are complying with federal law when they send out surveys. The surveys are also subject to audit by the U.S. Department of Education.

"It's important that parents support their child's school system by completing the Federal Impact Aid Survey," said Col. Lester A. Weilacher, 66th Air Base Group commander. "Information compiled from the survey will assist in determining the district's allotment of Federal Impact Aid so it's critically important that the surveys are signed, dated and returned in the timeframe requested by the school system. This aid benefits our children and our community."

School districts use Impact Aid for a wide variety of expenses, including the salaries of teachers and teacher aides, purchasing textbooks, computers and other equipment, after-school programs and remedial tutoring, advanced placement classes and special enrichment programs.

Families are encouraged to complete the form by Nov. 15 and return to Bedford High School. Families can also scan and email them to Lisa.Pizarro@hanscom.af.mil.

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.