GF School District could see Impact Aid dollars grow

It’s far from being a done deal but the Grand Forks School District has made some progress in the North Dakota House in capturing additional Federal Impact Aid dollars.

The House voted 94-0 last week to a revised funding formula for educating military base students.  The local district has long argued the current formula falls short for maintenance and tuition needs.

Representative Ron Guggisberg carried the bill on the House floor.  “Federal Impact Aid is provided to the military based school districts to provide things like maintenance on buildings and special needs.  Right now our current practice is to treat the aid as tuition.  That means the state collects 75% of the money and the schools get 25%.”

Under House Bill 12-46 Impact Aid would be gradually increased until full reimbursement is reached for the 2025-26 school year.

Grand Forks Business Manager Scott Berge says during the 2019-20 school year the federal aid totaled some $3.7 million dollars.  Berge says the new formula would net the district another $383,500 in year one of the plan.

The Senate still needs to review the proposed bill.