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December 18, 2006
Conference Call
Joe Bard, Chair,
PA
Ray Patrick, Vice-Chair, MO
Kari Arfstrom, AESA
Mary Kusler, AASA
Bill LeTarte, MI
Robert Newhouse, KS
Bob Rodgers, IL
Don Rodgers, TX
Terri Schwartzbeck, AASA
Agenda Items:
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Update on closeout of
109th
Forest County
Legislation
The Secure Rural Schools and Communities
Self-Determination Act was safety net
legislation that was created back in 2000 to
provide school districts and counties with
federal forest lands fiscal security in
light of dropping revenues due to reduced
timber harvest. This piece of legislation is
set to expire at the end of this month. In
the closing days of Congress, there was a
major push to provide for a one-year
extension of the program. Unfortunately,
this plan was not acted on, leaving the
program to expire and many rural schools in
dire situations.
It is anticipated that there will be
multiple efforts to revive this legislation
when Congress returns in January. At a
minimum there will be a push to get a one
year extension completed in January. In
addition, impacted school districts and
counties will continue their efforts to
advance a longer term reauthorization.
For more information, go to:
http://www.forestco.net/
DC Voucher
In the last days of Congress, efforts were
made to expand the DC Voucher program.
Specifically, a proposal was made to
eliminate any income requirements for the
participants of the program. Currently, you
must be within 180 percent of the poverty
line to be eligible for the program and be
at 200 percent of the poverty line to stay
in the program. Elimination of the income
requirements would mean that anyone in DC
sending their children to private schools
would be eligible. In the end we managed to
limit them to expanding the income limit for
those students currently in the program from
200 percent to 300 percent.
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds
This program was funded for $200 million for
FY 2006 and $200 million for FY 2007. QZABs
are tax free bonds ranging from $100,000 to
$20,000,000 for renovations, equipment,
technology, training teachers, curricula
development and more. To learn more about
this program, you can find it at their
website
http://www.qzab.org/.
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Update on the 110th
Funding
One of the first things that Congress will
do when they return in January will be to
pass the FY 2007 (2007 – 2008 school year)
funding bills. Because they were unable to
complete their work in the 109th Congress,
they new Democratic leadership is offering a
new plan.
All programs would be funded at the same
level that they were funded in FY 2006 (2006
– 2007 school year). This would be a better
option for education programs, because it
would prevent the cuts that were proposed in
both the House and the Senate
Committee-passed bills. However, even at
level funding, schools can expect cuts at
the local level.‘
For instance, if Title I is level funded,
9,548 school districts out of 14,000
receiving school districts would lose Title
I funding in the coming school year. This
will also be true in some of the other Title
programs. We also know that funding for the
Rural Education Achievement Program can help
protect school districts from the impact of
the cuts but we need to all work to increase
funding for REAP in the coming Congress. The
more funding we can secure for REAP in the
next Congress, the more help small rural
school districts can receive to help cushion
the impact of the cuts.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Reauthorization
When Congress convenes in 2007, they will
begin consideration of the reauthorization
of ESEA. We can expect to see many hearings
over the next year both in Washington DC and
around the country. It is important to get
the views of rural school districts heard at
these hearings. While bills may be
introduced this year, we are expecting them
to get held up in the larger political
context and the Presidential election of
2008. AASA does not anticipate this
reauthorization being completed before 2009.
Rural Education Achievement Program
Do not forget that in the reauthorization of
ESEA, REAP will also be reauthorized. We are
looking to identify the problems that have
arisen over the past 5 years and take steps
to correct them. Mary is working with the
Congressional cosponsors to identify the
problems we have heard about and determine
potential solutions. These solutions will be
up for consideration when the NREAC meets in
January.
Skills Commission
Comments were made about the
recent release of the new Skills Commission
report. Mary reported that she did not think
this report would go far. If you are interested
in looking at an executive summary of the
report, go to
www.skillscommission.org.
NREAC Briefing
Mary has spoken to staff
affiliated with the rural caucuses associated
with both the House and the Senate and they are
very interested in the idea of a NREAC briefing.
The briefing would focus on challenges and
opportunities for rural schools in the
reauthorization of ESEA. This briefing will be
further planned during our meeting in January.
January Legislative Meeting
Here is the information to
reserve a hotel room for January: The room rate
is $189 and the cut off date for reserving a
room is January 5th. Please make your
reservations as soon as possible. Let me know if
you have any questions or concerns. The Westin
is a brand new hotel by us and just two blocks
away from the Hilton. You can reserve by calling
1-888-627-7076 and asking for the AASA rate or
your can confirm online through the following
link:
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
The Westin Arlington Gateway
801 N. Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22203
703-717-6200
We plan to meet as a committee
all day Monday and Tuesday. The topics that were
suggested to be covered by our day on the hill
were ESEA reauthorization, REAP reauthorization,
E-Rate, Medicaid, the Forest County Legislation
and to invite the new Director of the Center for
Rural Education to have lunch with us to share
their work plan. Please let me know if you have
any further suggestions.
Election Outcome for 65% and
TABOR
TABOR was soundly defeated in all
states that it was on the ballot (ME, IN and
NE). MO was able to get it knocked off the
ballot because the petition signatures were
filed several hours late.
CO was able to overwhelmingly
defeat the only 65 percent initiative on the
ballot. The built a strong and wide reaching
coalition and pooled its resources.
Undocumented Students and
In-state Tuition
This is a growing issue around
the country. It became a ballot issue in AZ and
several other states. The main issue is whether
or not undocumented students have access to
college and if this is far – K-12 educators are
getting concerned. This is another area that may
come up in Congress this year due to possible
bipartisan support.
Vouchers
MO – the governor has appointed
two pro-voucher advocates to the state board of
education. They are both anti-public education.
MO is motivating to try and defeat these board
members before their senate consideration. This
will give an unnecessary boost the voucher
legislation that is expected to be introduced
this year.
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