IMPACTED AREAS OPERATION SINCE 1950

I am thinking specifically of the impacted area laws-Public Law $74 and Public Law 815. These laws have been in operation now since the 81st Congress or for 12 years. That they have been extremely successful, and that they have had wide support, is beyond dispute. No one raises the question of "Federal control" with respect to the impacted area laws because these laws have been in open operation in almost all sections of the country, and everyone knows that a charge of "Federal control" would, to use a lawyer's phrase, “be laughed out of court."

I realize that the purpose of these laws has been, and still is, to provide assistance to school districts whose enrollments have been swollen by an influx of children whose parents reside on Federal property, or are employed on Federal property, or where there has been a sudden and substantial increase in school attendance as a result of Federal activities, or the revenues available to school districts from local sources have been reduced as a result of the acquisition of real property by the United States. We all agree this basis is sound, and should not be subverted.

But I do want to point out that during the 12 years of the operation of Public Laws 874 and 815 they have been extended many times, and have been adjusted again and again to meet new situations and to iron out inequities. Public Law 815, which provides construction funds, was extended, or its provisions modified to adjust assistance to recently modified needs, three times in the 83d Congress, three times in the 84th Congress, three times in the 85th Congress, three times in the 86th Congress, and once more in the 1st session of the 7th Congress.

Public Law 874, which provides operation and maintenance funds in federally impacted areas, was extended, or modified, with similar purposes in view, three times in the 83d Congress, five times in the 4th Congress, twice in the 85th Congress, three times in the 86th Congress, and once in the 87th Congress, 1st session.

You Members of the Senate who sit on the committees responsible for the impacted area laws have shown admirable willingness to adjust the laws to fit newly emerging situations, as have your counterparts in the House, and the Congress has given almost unanimous support to your recommendations.

As a result, in 1963, approximately 11 million schoolchildren, or close to one-third of all pupils attending public elementary and secondary schools, were in attendance at a school in 1 of the 4,065 school districts receiving aid under 1 or more of the impacted area programs. Federal property forming a basis for this assistance totaled 255 million acres. There were some 5,288 different Federal properties laimed by applications as a basis for federally connected children. I quote these figures to indicate how widespread the programs are, and the immense impact this assistance has on all public elementary and secondary education in the United States.

In my State of Utah, in 1962, 12 school districts were aided under Public Law 874, the operation and maintenance law, receiving a total of $2.257,342. Two school districts were helped by Public Law 815, the school construction law, receiving $1,094,329. In a relatively

small State like Utah, where there is a high birth rate, a personal income average below the national average, and more children in public schools per capita than in any other State, the $3 million in school assistance provided by these two laws was most welcome, and indeed, indispensable.

Some provisions of these valuable laws have been made permanent, but others are under temporary extension, and we are faced with extending them before June 30 of this year. When we make that extension as I am confident we will-I suggest that we consider adjusting these laws once again, this time to broaden the programs slightly to allow other schools to participate and to clear up some of the inequities which have grown up since our last adjustment.

S. 415

On January 22, I introduced a bill, S. 415, which is cosponsored by Mr. Pastore, Mr. Randolph, Mr. Bible, Mr. Young, of Ohio, Mr. Fong, Mr. Long, of Missouri, Mr. Gruening, Mr. McGee, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Hart, and Mr. Brewster.

This bill provides not only for extending the provisions of Public Laws 815 and 874 for 2 years-that is, to June 30, 1965-but would amend it in two principal respects. I offer the bill for subcommittee consideration, and I would like to explain what the adjustment on the formulas I have suggested would do.

PUBLIC LAW 874

My bill changes the eligibility requirements of Public Law 874 for school districts with 35,000 children or over. At the present these large districts must prove that 6 percent of their children in average daily attendance are federally connected.

My bill would lower this percentage to 3 percent, which is the same figure now used for eligibility for districts with enrollments under 35,000. Some of the large school districts are now eligible on the basis of 3 percent federally connected children, and all of the smaller districts. It seems to me that all districts should be made eligible on the same basis-it costs all of them just as much to educate the children in question.

Adjustments of this provision would make some 20 to 25 additional large school districts in the country eligible, at a total estimated cost to the Federal Government between $18 to $20 million.

I have been advised by Mr. M. Lynn Bennion, superintendent of schools in Salt Lake City, that Salt Lake City has now reached a figure of 4.3 percent federally connected children. A reduction to a 3-percent qualification would, therefore, immediately make this important large district in Utah eligible.

Among other large city districts which probably could be qualified are Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Richmond, Detroit, Dallas, and Miami. There are probably more, but since many of them have not made recent surveys-because they knew they could qualifyfigures are not available. But I am sure new surveys would qualify more schools. Also, some of the larger consolidated school districts might qualify.

PUBLIC LAW 815

My bill would extend Public Law 815 for 2 years until June 30, 165, and modify the minimum requirements in two instances. It would cut from 5 to 3 percent the minimum requirement of a percentage increase in federally connected children with parents on Federal property during a 2-year increase period over the base year (sections 5(A) (1) and (2)), and reduce from 10 to 5 percent the minimum requirement for children of parents brought into the community because of defense contracts (section 5(A) (3)).

Children who are classified as 5(A) (1), you will all remember, are those who live on Federal property with parents who work on Federal property. 5(A) (2) children either live on Federal property or with parents who work on Federal property. Children classified as 5(A) (3) are those brought into the district through the actions of a Federal contractor, or activities directly relating to the Federal contract.

GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT PROBLEM

An adjustment in requirements in these categories, would probably make the Granite School District in Utah eligible for building funds. Granite just recently qualified for operation and maintenance assistance under Public Law 874, but does not quite qualify for Public Law 15 assistance. My most recent communication from its administrative assistant, Dr. Ted T. Peterson, reports that the Granite School District now has 3.9 children in the 5(A) (3) category, and 2.10 children in the 5(A) (2) category, which combined make a total of 6.10 percent, well over the 5 percent which would be required under the change in formula I suggest.

Granite is one of the most hard-pressed districts in the State. Its school population is bursting at the seams of its buildings. News of Federal building assistance would be most welcome.

There has been increasing difficulty on the part of school districts to meet the requirement of a 5 percent increase in membership over a 2-year period of children connected with Federal property so the district can make application for new school construction.

The nonfederally connected school population has increased in many districts that have been applicants under Public Law 815 in past years, an increase induced partly by the increased Federal activity in a community. Approximately one-half of the applicants whose appications were processed after recent cutoff dates under Public Law 15 have failed to meet the minimum requirements for eligibility, not because they did not need the classrooms for federally connected children, but because the minimum requirements were too exacting.

An analysis of the applications processed after the last 5 cutoff dates of June 19, 1961; December 11, 1961; June 25, 1962; November 19, 1962: and June 24, 1963; indicated 812 applications filed, of which 67 have been processed. Of these 312, or 44.8 percent, were declared eligible for various causes. There were 114 districts which did not theet the required 5 percent increase in school membership, during a 2year increase period, of children connected with Federal property, and as which were ineligible for other reasons such as (1) an insufficient umber of unhoused children, (2) insufficient growth in the nonfed

eral school population to meet the required 107 percent, (3) the fact that an applicant might have been paid under a previous application for more federally connected children than it now has in terminal membership, or (4) other causes.

Of the 114 applications which did not meet the 5 percent requirement for eligibility, 48 had a percentage increase which ranged from 3 to 4.9 percent. The probable effect of reducing the percentage increase requirement to 3 percent would be to increase the number of successful applicants by about 15 percent.

Nor would the number of school districts affected by the change from 10 to 5 percent (5) (A) (3) be large, but a few more districts might qualify. The justification for the proposed percentage reduc tion from 10 to 5 percent under this section of the law is consistent with the original purpose of Public Law 815.

The criteria for eligibility under this law attempted to measure the point at which increases in school enrollment of federally connected children as defined in the law caused a serious financial burden on the school district. The entitlement formula attempted to relate the amount of the Federal payment to the extent of the financial burden imposed on the local educational agencies by Federal activities. Details of these formula provisions have been altered by amendments to the original act, but the basic concept has remained the same since the law was originally passed.

The type of federally caused impact recognized under subsection 5(A) (3) of this law is a sudden and substantial increase of children resulting directly from activities of the United States carried on either directly or through a contractor. These are mostly defense contracts with privately owned plants. For the sake of consistency it appears that a school district should not be prevented on a much more severe basis from participation in Federal assistance for a federally caused burden ascribed to Federal contract activity than for a burden ascribed to employment of a parent on a military installation.

RECOMMENDATION

In summary, Mr. Chairman, what I am proposing here today is that we use the tried and proven method employed in Public Law 874 and Public Law 815 of limiting Federal assistance to individual applicant school districts which meet general criteria of eligibility and need, but that we expand the program slightly in order to give help to more districts and more children. I propose to undertake this modest expansion through the adjustment of formulas which govern the assistance-by making these formulas less demanding, and more equitable. I think this is practical, and I think it is realistic.

I would not suggest these adjustments if I felt they would in any way endanger the extension of Public Law 815 and Public Law 874 to those districts already qualified for assistance. These districts depend on impacted area money to meet their responsibilities—and in some cases those responsibilities have greatly increased since the program was first inaugurated. We must extend the temporary provi sions of these laws as soon as possible so school districts throughout the country, which are already eligible, can plan their budgets for the

school year 1963-64 with assurance that the Federal entitlements on which they have been depending will continue.

As I indicated earlier, a full dozen Utah school districts have been receiving help under either or both Public Laws 874 and 815, and another, Granite, has just been added. This assistance must be continued. But I am confident that its continuance would in no way be jeopardized by amending again the much-amended impacted area laws in the interest of justice and equity.

An excellent statement of the case for Utah schools already receiving impacted area aid is made in a statement prepared by Mr. G. H. Holt, superintendent of Davis County schools, and I ask that it be made a part of the record of these hearings.

Senator YARBOROUGH. So ordered, made a part of the record. (The prepared statement of Mr. Holt follows:)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SUPERINTENDENT G. HAROLD HOLT OF THE DAVIS COUNTY SCHOOLS IN UTAH

In representing Davis County School District and referring to Utah school districts I should like all to know that our districts are consolidated districts in Utah. They are city or county districts.

The original act providing financial assistance to school districts under Public Law 874 contained a declaration of policy. I should like to call your attention to sections 1 and 3 of the act which set forth that policy. In section 1 the Federal Government accepts responsibility to provide assistance to local educational agencies upon which the United States has placed financial burdens by reason of the fact that

(1) The revenues available to such agencies from local sources have been reduced as the result of the acquisition of real property by the United States; or

(2) Such agencies provide education for children residing on Federal property; or

(3) Such agencies provide education for children whose parents are employed on Federal property; or

(4) There has been a sudden and substantial increase in school attendance as the result of Federal activities.

Section 3 of the bill seeks to compensate school districts in reasonable amounts for the cost of educating children who, because they reside on tax-exempt Federal property or because their parents ar employed on such property, do at in effect pay their own way.

I do not know what the situation is throughout the United States. I do know that there has been no significant change since 1950 in the Davis County School District or most of the other school districts in Utah to justify a change It policy. The impact is greater today in our school district than it was in The enrollment increase from 1950-51 to 1951-52 was 726 or 8.77 percent. Last year the growth was 1943 or 9.2 percent. The ratio of the 1951-52 federally ected pupils to the total membership was 37 percent. On October 19, 1962, it was 41 percent. A comparison of this ratio in other Utah school districts is as

follows:

The membership in Davis County School District was 4,220 in 1933-34. It 4210 in 1940-41. Beginning with World War II it gradually rose to 7,658 1900 and to 19,002 in 1960 and as of January 1963, it was 22,652. Since 1949