AzSIAA Bi-Weekly Newsletter

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From the Executive Director

ASIAA Members,

This NAFIS conference is one of the most important, critical events in recent history. To quote Executive Director Hilary Goldmann, “We will pro-actively advocate for Impact Aid and infrastructure funding, and fight off efforts to turn Impact Aid into a voucher.  To succeed, we will need the entire NAFIS Family united, focused and engaged.”  With the challenges and changes in Congress, a unified, focused, and engaged effort is needed.

The following is a annotated schedule for the conference.  Please post to your calendar.   

NAFIS Spring 2018 Conference - Strategy for Success - Unite-Focus-Engage - Stand Together

NAFIS Spring Conference Program ASIAA highlights

Sunday, March 18, 2018     12:00 - 12:45    State Chair Working Lunch
                04:30 - 05:15    School Board Members Session
Monday, March 19, 2018    07:45 - 09:45    Sub-Group Meeting - NIISA
                02:15 - 04:30     Ganado USD (AZ) Student Presentation
                04:30 - 05:30    State Meetings - Arizona
Tuesday, March 20, 2018    07:30 - 05:00    Capitol Hill Day - Pre-Scheduled Visits
                04:00 - 05:00    NAFIS Hill Day Debrief
                07:00 - 10:00    Ending Reception - March Madness

When you review the information contained in this newsletter you will note the FY2019 Trump budget cut basic support by 44% and eliminated Federal Properties.  A recent budget amendment restored the basic support but, continues to eliminate Federal Properties.  So, as you read the numbers, keep in perspective basic support is restored yet is very concerning because of the original proposed cut.

At this writing there are three challenges to Impact Aid on the table.  First, the FY2019 reduction of basic support in the President’s budget.  Will this reappear?  Second, the elimination of Federal Properties is a door that will open to further reductions. (Republican two-step, enacted costly tax cuts skewed toward wealthy households and large corporations, paying for cuts by using the high deficits to justify further cuts). Third, the voucher challenge “Transitioning the Impact Aid program into a system of parent-controlled education savings accounts (Heritage Foundation Report) are on the table. (January 7, 2018 ASIAA ENewsletter)

Please email a copy of your district congressional packet to lwallen@azsiaa.org.  If you are not attending the NAFIS conference, please prepare an information sheet or pack on your district to include with the ASIAA congressional materials.

Larry E. Wallen, Executive Director

ASIAA Call to Action - ASIAA Officers

At the December 15, 2017 General Membership meeting, the new officers were installed to the Board of Directors.
(Jan 2018 - Dec 2020)
Ms. Lynnette Michalski - President
Mr. Chris Ostergaard - President-elect
Secretary/Treasurer - Vacant (Mr. Boyle is continuing until a replacement)
Dr. Robbie Koerperich, Past President

The Board is accepting nominations/applications for a Secretary and a Treasurer.  Please submit a short resume to Ms. Lynnette Michalski at lmichalski@wrschool.net.  Nominees must be members of ASIAA.  The duties and responsibilities are defined in the ASIAA bylaws at this link.

The goal in keeping the Secretary and Treasurer separate positions is to enlarge the ASIAA leadership pool.  

Should you have questions, please contact Larry Wallen at lwallen@azsiaa.org.

2019  Budget Addendum - Real or Mirage?

Because the President’s budget had been finalized and sent to the printer before the bipartisan budget agreement was announced last week, the Trump Administration has provided a budget “addendum” for 2019 that recognizes the agreement — but only to a limited extent.[1]  In its addendum, the Administration lays out about $75 billion in additions to its 2019 budget, proposing total NDD funding of $540 billion in 2019.  This sounds like a substantial increase, but it applies to a budget that would have cut NDD appropriations $132 billion below the agreement level and $65 billion below what full sequestration cuts would require.  So even with the addendum, the Trump plan calls for appropriating $57 billion less in 2019 than the revised non-defense cap enacted last week.  

Those figures actually overstate what the Administration is proposing, however, since more than half of the purported additions don’t really increase funding levels.  Rather, some involve simply shifting ongoing expenditures that are part of the mandatory spending or overseas contingency operations budget categories into the regular non-defense discretionary category (thus making them subject to the BCA non-defense cap).  This increases the number of programs funded under the regular non-defense total, soaking up a share of the additional resources provided in the deal and effectively denying them to programs that are traditionally funded in the category. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Feb 14, 2018)

Read more.

Check out the Native ED Review - NIEA regarding the Trump Administration 2019 budget and the proposed impact on Native education, Department of the Interior and the Department of Education. (NIEA.org)

• February 12, 2018 - Trump Administration release 2019 Budget
  
  • Proposes a 5% cut to the Department of Education
    
    • DOE proposed level funding for Title VI, the Indian Education Formula Grant Program (164.9 million)
      
    • Title I funding increase of $15.4 billion for inflation
      
    • Title II funding eliminated cutting $2.2 billion
      
    • JOM eliminated ($14 million)
      
    • Cut of $1.2 billion in after school programs
      
    • “Opportunity Grants” proposed for $1 billion - expand existing private school choice program (Eliminated in FY2018 budget)
      
  • Proposes a 14% cut to the Department of Interior
    
    • BIE construction from $133 million to $74 million
      
    • BIE operating funding cut $141 million from $892 million to $741 million
      
• Next Steps
  
  • March 23 - Congress begins drafting the appropriations bills for FY 2019
    
  • Current fiscal year disagreements have slowed the process
    
  • Continuing Resolutions creating delays in FY2018 budget
    
  • FY 2018 CR expires March 23rd - appropriations bills are expected before then
    

The proposed cuts to BIE were defeated in the FY2018 budget proposal. ( www.niea.org.)

The 2019 Budget Request puts particular emphasis on six major priorities:

(1) providing better choices to attend a high-quality school for more families;
(2) supporting high-quality special education services to children with disabilities;
(3) expanding access to additional pathways to successful careers for our students;
(4) promoting innovation and reform around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and computer science education;
(5) implementing school-based opioid abuse prevention strategies; and
(6) making the Department more efficient while limiting the Federal role in education.

(FY2019 Budget Summary)

To see the Department of Education's FY 2019 Budget, please click here. 
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Copied from the FY2019 Budget proposal:


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Cut to Basic Support recently restored in Budget Amendment.

“The Impact Aid program provides financial assistance to school districts affected by Federal activities. The presence of certain children living on Federal property across the country can place a financial burden on the LEAs that educate them because such property is exempt from local property taxes, denying LEAs access to a key source of revenue used by most communities to finance education. Impact Aid helps replace the lost local revenue that would otherwise be available to LEAs to pay for the education of these children.

The request would provide significant support for the education of more than 800,000 federally connected children in almost 1,100 school districts while maintaining the fiscal discipline required to meet the President’s overall goal of increasing support for national security and public safety without adding to the Federal budget deficit. Since the request level would not be enough to honor the hold-harmless provisions in the statute, payments for every LEA would be ratably reduced from their prior year allocation at the same rate. While fiscal constraints required the reduction in funding for Basic Support Payments in the fiscal year 2019 request, the Administration believes that a better understanding—informed by a high-quality evaluation— of the economic effects of the Federal presence in participating districts could support future reform proposals.

The request for Payments for Children with Disabilities would support formula grants to help eligible districts meet their obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a free appropriate public education for federally connected children with disabilities. The request for Facilities Maintenance would fund essential repair and maintenance of the nine school facilities serving large numbers of military dependents that are owned and operated by the Department of Education, while also supporting the transfer of these schools to local school districts. The entire request for Construction would be used for competitive grants to the LEAs with the greatest need and would provide sufficient assistance to enable those LEAs to make major repairs and renovations. The Administration requests no funds for Payments for Federal Property because these payments compensate LEAs for lost property tax revenue due to the presence of Federal lands without regard to whether those districts educate any federally connected children.”

Resources  The President’s FY19 budget proposal can be accessed here.  
The Department of Education budget materials are online here.  
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Budget in Brief is available online here.  
The Department of Labor budget materials are online here.

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2018 Arizona Indian Education Stakeholders Summit.

Please see the attached Request for Proposals for the 2018 Arizona Indian Education Stakeholders Summit.  Proposals are due by April 30, 2018.  Feel free to share with others.  Submit to nadine.groenig@azed.gov.

September 18-19, 2018
We-Ko-Pa Resort and Conference Center
10438 N. Fort McDowell Road
Scottsdale, AZ  85264
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PROSPER Act - Higher Education Act

Follow this link to hear a discussion with Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Education and the Workforce Committee chair, talk with reporters on C-SPAN’s Newsmakers to discuss the PROSPER Act.  Foxx spoke about reforming the Higher Education Act and how institutions can better serve the students and the community.

Simplifying student aid provides an easier path for students to know their options and choose what is best for them.
"We have simplified [student aid]. I have heard since I have been in Washington D.C. that the FAFSA is impossible to deal with," said Chairwoman Foxx. "That we have too many loan programs, they’re very confusing; we have too many grant programs, they’re very confusing, and so we are again responding to the public and to our members.”

Educators need to do a better job of preparing students for the workforce in order to eliminate the skills gap.
“I do feel very keenly that our postsecondary education, and some of the elements of secondary education, have not done what they should to help students be prepared for the workforce," said Chairwoman Foxx. "And I really have evidence for it. We have 6.2 million jobs in this country unfilled right now and I often ask groups of people and individuals, ‘Why did you get a degree, why did you go to school?’ Everybody invariably answers, ‘To get a job.’ And so something is wrong.”

The PROSPER Act streamlines the financial aid process so students know all their options.
“Our goal is to help students look for ways to be able to complete a college education with a minimum of hassle, particularly as it relates to financial aid,” said Chairwoman Foxx."

​To learn more about the PROSPER Act, click here.

AASA Response to President Trump’s Proposed FY 2019 Budget

Outside of the deep cuts to K12 education, the president’s proposed FY19 budget does include new money for K12, though those dollars are almost exclusively prioritized for investment in school choice and privatization programs. The proposed funding includes $1.6 billion for school choice, including $1 billion in funding to support a new Opportunity Grants program to expand “existing private school choice programs to serve more low income and at-risk students,” create new models, and support the portability of government funding to follow students to their whatever public school they choose to attend. The total also includes $500 million for public charter schools (an increase of $158 m) and $98 million for magnet schools (level funding).

To read more follow this link.
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NAFIS Immediate Release - President’s Original Budget Request Cuts Impact Aid by $594 Million; Shifts Taxpayer Dollars to Private Schools

(Washington, DC) - The Trump Administration's FY2019 Budget request cuts the Impact Aid Program by $594 million. It includes a 44-percent reduction to Impact Aid Basic Support and a proposal to eliminate Impact Aid Federal Property payments. The budget request would also siphon critical resources away from public schools in-favor of a private school voucher program, and the President's accompanying infrastructure request fails to include any funds for school construction. Although the budget addendum restores funding for original budget makes the unjustifiable decision to cut Impact Aid. 

"it is unconscionable this administration would risk closing the doors or reducing educational offerings/opportunities and other student support at schools that educate a majority of military - connected and Native American students in favor of funding private schools," says Goldmann. 

To read more follow this link. 

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Post to Your Calendar

NAFIS Spring Conference
Equity Event
NSBA Conference
Institute for Excellence (ASBA)
ASA Summer Conference

March 18-20, 2018
March 22-23, 2018
April 7-9, 2018
June 3-6, 2018
​June 10-12, 2018