Parents Urged to Complete School Federal Impact Aid Survey

Impact Aid flyer courtesy Hawaiʻi Department of Education.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education will be sending a US Department of Education Federal Survey Card home with Hawaiʻi’s public school students for parents to complete beginning Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016.

Completed Impact Aid Program survey cards allow HIDOE to qualify for a partial reimbursement for educating federally connected students, such as children whose parents work or live on federal property. The program was created to assist school districts that lose tax revenues (e.g. income, sales and property taxes) due to a federal presence.

Received funds go to all local school districts, just like local property taxes, and can be used to hire teachers, purchase textbooks and computers, pay for utilities and more. Parents are strongly urged to complete the surveys and return them to their schools as soon as possible.

“Impact Aid funds are extremely important to support all our public schools statewide and help to improve quality education for our students,” said Kathryn Matayoshi, HIDOE Superintendent. “During the 2015-16 school year, the state accounted for 27,660 federally connected students and received more than $40 million in Impact Aid funding. We ask all parents for their cooperation to complete these important surveys.”

Officials say completed survey forms will benefit students at all public schools statewide. Federal reimbursements help to offset such costs as student transportation, school utilities, substitute teachers, portable classrooms and many others necessities.

Without these federal funds, the Hawaiʻi public school system would have $40 million to $50 million less per year to operate with and would need to reduce support for all schools to pay all its expenses.

Every public school has a 100% return rate goal and asks that parents complete and return the federal survey next week.