Superintendent campaigns for impact aid fix
By Jerry W. Kram
Parshall School District Superintendent John Weidner took his message to Washington, D.C., that the sequester is hurting school districts like Parshall.
Weidner informed the school board about his recent trip to Washington to meet with the North Dakota Congressional Delegation about the impacts of the sequester on schools like Parshall. Impact Aid is a payment the federal government makes to school districts for federal property that is not subject to property taxes. It is a major source of revenue for school districts on Indian Reservations or ones that host military bases. Under the sequester, Parshall’s impact aid has been cut by about $170,000.
Weidner said he was disappointed that he and other North Dakota school administrators were unable to meet with Rep. Kevin Cramer. Weidner said he has tried to meet with Cramer several times. Senator John Hoeven was also unavailable, but Weidner said that was unusual since he has met with Hoeven a number of times. He did meet with Hoeven and Cramers staff people. The group did have a meeting with Senator Heidi Heitkamp.
