ALONGSIDE HUDSON VALLEY STUDENTS, CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN LEADS CHARGE TO PREVENT TRUMP FROM DISMANTLING CRITICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM
Alongside Hudson Valley Students, Congressman Pat Ryan Leads Charge to Prevent Trump from Dismantling Critical Education Program
Federal Impact Aid helps fund school districts that lose tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property, such as military installations; it ensures all children, including those from military families, have access to high-quality education and well-resourced schools
President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education leave the program’s future uncertain; two NY-18 school districts – Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery and Hyde Park – receive federal funding through Impact Aid, without which they’d face staffing reductions, elimination of extracurriculars, and fewer student support services
Congressman Ryan’s Fairness in Education Funding Act – introduced after meeting with impacted students – would ensure Impact Aid can operate as Congress intended
HIGHLAND FALLS, NY – After meeting with Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District (CSD) students last week, Congressman Pat Ryan today introduced his “Fairness in Education Funding Act,” to prevent the Trump Administration from dismantling the Federal Impact Aid program – which ensures equal access to education to all children, including from military families.
Federal Impact Aid is a funding program that provides financial support to school districts that lose tax revenue because they are located on or near tax-exempt federal property, such as military installations. Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have explicitly stated plans to dismantle the Department of Education, leaving the future of Impact Aid totally uncertain.
The Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery CSD receives Impact Aid payments because West Point is in the district; Hyde Park CSD receives funding because the historic Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt - operated by the National Park Service - is in the district. Since these are tax-exempt federal properties, both school districts lose out on this property tax revenue. Impact Aid funding helps offset some of this tax loss. Without sufficient Impact Aid, both districts face the risk of losing educators and support staff, reducing or eliminating athletics and extracurriculars, scaling back academic programs, and resorting to larger class sizes and fewer student supports.
“Every child deserves access to high quality education. Trump and McMahon’s assault on the Department of Education is threatening that access for kids across the country – including those of active servicemembers and military personnel in our community. As the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in Congress, I have a duty to ensure that none of these children get left behind,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Seeing these young people take their future into their own hands and demand better of their Education Secretary is inspiring – we have to have their backs. I’m proudly fighting alongside them and introducing the “Fairness in Education Funding Act” to ensure that all our students in all our schools have access to the high-quality education they deserve.”
“Impact Aid is not just a funding source, it is a lifeline for students who depend on it,” said Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery CSD Superintendent Michael McElduff. “Impact aid ensures access to quality education, support services, and opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach for impacted districts like ours. Our students and community are speaking up because the threat of elimination would have real, lasting consequences on learning, equity, and the future of our schools as well as the rest of the districts that are federally impacted.”
Last Friday, Congressman Ryan joined students as they wrote letters to Education Secretary Linda McMahon asking her to protect the program. After meeting with the students, Congressman Ryan introduced his “Fairness in Education Funding Act,” to prevent the Trump Administration from dismantling the program which ensures equal access to education for all children, including from military families.
Threats to the Impact Aid program stem from the Trump Administration’s desire to illegally dismantle the Department of Education, without any say from Congress. In a March Executive Order, President Trump directed the “Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education,” leaving the future of the Impact Aid program totally uncertain.
While the administration seeks to return educational authority to the states, Impact Aid serves as an important example of a federal program that avoids bureaucratic red tape by sending money directly to school districts to use at their discretion, targeting funds directly to areas with the greatest need. The monkey is also locally controlled; the flexibility allows school districts to target funds wherever they deem most effective. For example, the funding may be used for the salaries of teachers and teacher aides; purchasing textbooks, computers and other equipment; transportation services; after-school programs and remedial tutoring; advanced placement classes; and special enrichment programs.
Congressman Ryan’s legislation will protect the integrity of the Impact Aid program and keep its functioning intact during the Trump years, despite Trump Administration attempts to dismantle the Department of Education (for example, by issuing an executive order directly saying so, by firing department staff (that a judge ruled must be rehired), and various federal funding freezes).
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