Feds release $4m to Indian River, Carthage schools

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that overdue Federal Impact Aid for the Indian River and Carthage school districts has been released. Indian River will receive $3.3 million and Carthage will receive $1.1 million.

The Department of Education was holding on to federally-appropriated funds that were designated to be sent to qualified Impact Aid schools. This money should have been sent to districts months ago, according to Schumer.

In a letter to the Secretary of Education, Schumer urged Secretary Duncan to speed up the disbursing of these funds, which are critical to helping districts plan and budget for the coming school year.

“Carthage and Indian River count on these funds to provide a top-notch education to north nountry students, and bureaucratic red tape was standing between our kids and a brighter future,” said Schumer. “ I thank the Education Secretary Duncan for making this a priority, and will continue doing everything I can to help our north country schools, that are nearby the rapidly growing Fort Drum, deliver the education that our students need and deserve.”

“The news of the additional payments was a welcome relief at Indian River,” said Jim Koch, business manager for the Indian River school district. “In February and March of each year, we develop our budget for the upcoming school year, and having some degree of certainty in the cash flows is a critical component to ensuring that we have the resources necessary to provide all of the district's children with a quality educational experience.

"Over 65 percent of our students belong to families of soldiers assigned to Fort Drum, and we simply could not do our job if we had to rely solely on state and local resources. Receiving Impact Aid is critical to our mission, and receiving it in a timely fashion means that we have the funds to meet the expenses without having to resort to temporary borrowing measures. We truly appreciate Senator Schumer and his colleagues in taking the lead role on very short notice in making this request of Secretary Duncan.”

The Federal Impact Aid money is the federal government's assistance to districts that educate the children of military personnel.