<p><b><i>Parents can impact education system by filling out survey cards</b></i></p><p>SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - Students will bring home a federal survey card for parents to complete Sept. 1; these cards need to be returned to schools Sept. 2. </p><p> Schools will receive federal impact aid based on the number of survey cards that are returned. </p><p> <b>Why do the survey cards lead to federal impact aid'</b>
The survey cards determine the number of federally connected students in the public school system. Federally connected students are those children whose parents or legal guardians reside or work on federal property. The law recognizes the following as eligible: </p><p> Aca,!AcChildren whose parents both live and work on federal property;
Aca,!AcAre members of the uniformed services and reside on a military base, including children of foreign military officers;
Aca,!AcAre members of the uniformed services, but who reside off the military base, including children of foreign military officers;
Aca,!AcAre civilian employees of the federal government or who work on federal property;
Aca,!AcReside on federal property, but who work on taxable land;
Aca,!AcLive on Indian trust or treaty land; and
Aca,!AcReside in federal low rent housing, not including Section 8 housing. </p><p> Based on these criteria, data is collected from the survey cards and is delivered to the Federal Department of Education, which reimburses the Hawaii Department of Education (DoE) in impact aid for educating federally connected students. </p><p> <b>What is federal impact aid'</b>
Impact aid is intended to partially compensate the Hawaii DoE for the families of federally connected students that pay less in taxes into the school district than local residents. It partially makes up for local tax losses resulting from tax-free federal installations. </p><p> For example, people living on federal property do not pay local property tax. People who work on federal property, in turn, work for companies that do not pay local property tax. Also, people who work for the military have the ability to shop for food and other items at a post exchange that does not charge sales tax. Therefore, Hawaii and its school districts lose not only property tax revenue, but also sales tax and licensing fees. </p><p> <b>Why should parents fill out the federal survey card'</b>
Impact aid is used in the areas that the DoE needs it most as determined by the locally elected school board. These funds can be used for teacher salaries, school programs, materials, equipment and supplies. </p><p> "Hawaii's public schools rely on federal impact aid as a significant part of the education budget," said Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto. "By filling out and returning the survey cards, parents are helping our schools claim and benefit from their authorized share of federal support." </p><p> <b>How much impact aid has Hawaii received in the past'</b>
During the 2006-2007 school year, the DOE received an average of $1,587 per federally connected student. The cost of educating a child in 2006-2007 was $11,531. </p><p> <b>How can parents help'</B>
Parents are encouraged to fill out and return surveys to schools promptly. Nonresponses could result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds that benefit both our military and local communities. </p><p> Every card that is not returned will result in lost revenues to Hawaii classrooms statewide.</p>

Page last updated Fri July 22nd, 2011 at 12:16