Fight begins over Impact Aid for Groton
Groton — A bipartisan group of 38 U.S. senators is demanding continued federal funding to educate the children on Native American Indian reservations and military installations, including those who attend Groton Public Schools.
The Impact Aid program provides money to educate children in school districts with large swaths of federally owned, tax-exempt properties such as military installations. More than 1,200 districts nationwide with military bases or tribal lands rely on the funding, which would be cut in President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 budget.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and his colleagues called for continued support for the program in a May 23 letter to Committee Chairman Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., who serve on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.
"For a president that claims he's pro-military, how do you then turn around and cut funding, for every town that has a military base, as punishment?" Murphy said.
Groton received $3.3 million in Impact Aid this year toward the education of 973 children who live in tax-exempt military housing at Balfour Beatty Communities, Groton Superintendent Michael Graner said.
“For many districts, this funding represents the very lifeblood that allows their school system to operate,” the senators wrote in the letter. “The potential of long-term funding stagnation or program cuts is of serious concern given the changing needs of the program and the students these districts serve. Impact Aid is not only the federal government’s obligation, but also a tax relief program for local communities.”
Groton already expects to lose millions in state education funding, so a cut in Impact Aid "would be devastating to us," Graner said. The Town Council anticipates a $5 million loss in its state Education Cost Sharing grant and the town cut the education budget 2 percent to cope with the reduction. Groton is closing Pleasant Valley Elementary School this month because it can’t afford to keep it open.
The federal cut would hit Groton at a time when it simply cannot sustain the loss, Murphy said.
"The fact of the matter is, Groton has given up very valuable taxable income to proudly host the U.S. Navy, and this funding has always been a recognition that town revenues are ultimately affected by having nontaxable federal land," he said.
A second issue is the amount of federal Impact Aid Groton receives in the first place, relative to the cost of educating students. The program gives the town $3,912 per child to educate military dependents and $126 for civilian children living in military housing, Graner said. The actual cost of education in Groton is $15,842 per student, or $15.4 million for students living in Balfour Beatty.
Of the total cost, federal Impact Aid covered $3.3 million this year, and state education funding covered about $5 million, Graner said.
“So the argument about Impact Aid is that, yes, children are being educated. And of course we’re honored to be serving the children of our military members," he said. But because Balfour Beatty is a tax-exempt property, the taxpayers had to cover the approximately $7.1 million difference, he said.
Graner plans to meet with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., this summer to discuss whether Impact Aid is equitable. He hopes Murphy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and town leaders also can attend.
State Rep. Joseph de la Cruz, D-Groton, said Impact Aid isn’t equitable and should be maintained at a minimum. But the topic is also sensitive, because another state that complains less about the cost of hosting a military facility could end up in a better situation if the federal government consolidates or closes military bases, he said.
“How much do you start yelling at the federal government when obviously I’m sure there’s another state that wouldn’t want its base closed?” de la Cruz said. “It is such a touchy situation, and it’s difficult to walk around. But what’s fair is fair in the end.”
The state should contribute more to help Groton, he said. Since the state benefits from having the Naval Submarine Base, it should support it more financially, instead of leaving that task to the taxpayers of one community, de la Cruz said.
“What I do want to have happen is to have all of Connecticut support our troops, and not just Groton alone,” he said.
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