Blunt Backs Boosts to School Construction  & IDEA Funding

Currently, federal tax law only allows a school district to invest the proceeds of bond sales for two years , even though the process of designing and constructing the building can take much longer.  Local school districts pay a significant penalty on any interest earned after the two years but before the project is complete. Blunt's legislation, "School Construction Help on Outstanding Loans Act of 1999 (House Resolution 2416) would give school districts four years and allow them to let their bond money work longer for taxpayers and new facilities.  

(Congressman Blunt toured the new Nixa High School with school board president Peggy Taylor and construction manager Blake Christian of DeWitt & Associates.)

Blunt said, "Two years does not give school district much time to complete a major project like the new high school at Nixa.  As a result, the Nixa School District faces losing  $100,000 to the IRS.  The Branson School District could lose $600,000 to IRS penalties because their new multi-million bond issue to build a new high school could not be built to completion in only two years. School districts don't have the funds to pay for detailed construction drawings prior to voter approval of the bonds.  Typically, creation of those drawings can take up to a year before construction begins, leaving school districts hard pressed to meet restrictive deadlines.

"Many people in Washington would like to lead local tax payers to believe that the federal government will build and repair our schools.  That is not going to happen," the second-term Congressman from Strafford said. "Every time local voters are mislead to believe it might, it makes it harder for local officials to build new schools and repair the old ones."  Blunt pointed out that, "One significant thing the federal government could do is to stop making it harder for local school districts to build our schools."

Blunt, a former university president who taught at both the high school and college level, said, "School districts are being penalized for being good stewards with the public's money. It's tough to build major facilities within two years.  Forcing schools to pay exorbitant IRS penalties merely because a timetable was missed needlessly robs districts of vital cash resources.  After all, the school districts are doing the will of the voters, who approved the bonds to construct the facilities.  Along comes the IRS and says ‘do it faster or be fined."  Blunt called it, "Another Washington bureaucratic nightmare that has to end."
 

IDEA Funding
The 2001 federal budget plan approved by the House and proposed by Congressman  Blunt in February makes a dramatic increase in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  "This is the number one problem Missouri superintendents cite when they mention problems with federal education programs," Blunt said.  

IDEA is one of the most expensive and highly regulated federal programs.  It is long overdue for reform.  Federal, state and local costs for a single student with disabilities can approach as much as $100,000 per year, or 17 times as much as other students.

As it is now," Blunt observed, "local tax payers are subsidizing this federal program." Historically, the IDEA program for special education students has been underfunded, despite sharp increases in the last six years.  The 1974 IDEA law requires the federal government to cover 40% of the cost of the program. The amount equaled 6% 20 years later. The current funding level is almost 13%.  "This Congress, Blunt said, "should invest $2 billion in the 2001 budget into IDEA, compared to the meager $330 million increase proposed by the president.  The House leadership will make IDEA funding ‘the highest priority among federal elementary and secondary education programs.‘  Its about time," he said.

In a related IDEA matter, the House passed an important reform last June, currently pending in a conference committee giving school personnel authority to discipline students with disabilities who have weapons in the same way they would discipline students without disabilities. Blunt said, "It will improve safety and allow teachers to control students who carry weapons into the classroom."

"I believe the Congress should keep its word to local school districts, who are using local funds to cover the costs of this mandated federal program," Blunt said.  "Federal programs should pay what the federal government promised to pay and not put greater a burden on local education resources.  School districts should use their local money to achieve local priorities, like reducing class size, increased teacher pay and training and providing better text books and technology." 
       
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Below is the text of the budget bill regarding IDEA funding: 
SEC. 27. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION.(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds that--
(1) all children deserve a quality education, including children with disabilities;
(2) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides that the Federal, State, and local governments are to share in the expense of educating children with disabilities and commits the Federal Government to pay up to 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for children with disabilities;
(3) the high cost of educating children with disabilities and the Federal Government's failure to fully meet its obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act stretches limited State and local education funds, creating difficulty in providing a quality education to all students, including children with disabilities;
(4) the current level of Federal funding to States and localities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is contrary to the goal of ensuring that children with disabilities receive a quality education;
(5) the Federal Government has failed to appropriate 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure per child with a disability as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Act to assist States and localities to educate children with disabilities; and
(6) the levels in function 500 (Education) for fiscal year 2001 assume sufficient discretionary budget authority to accommodate fiscal year 2001 appropriations for IDEA at least $2,000,000,000 above such funding levels appropriated in fiscal year 2000.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that--(1) Congress and the President should increase fiscal year 2001 funding for programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Act by at least $2,000,000,000 above fiscal year 2000 appropriated levels;
(2) Congress and the President should give programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act the highest priority among Federal elementary and secondary education programs by meeting the commitment to fund the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under such Act prior to authorizing or appropriating funds for any new education initiative; 
(3) Congress and the President should, if new or increased funding is authorized or appropriated for any education initiative, provide the flexibility in such authorization or appropriation necessary to allow local educational agencies the authority to use such funds for programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
(4) if a local educational agency chooses to utilize the authority under section 613(a)(2)(C)(i) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to treat as local funds up to 20 percent of the amount of funds the agency receives under part B of such Act that exceeds the amount it received under that part for the previous fiscal year, then the agency should use those local funds to provide additional funding for any Federal, State,or local education program.

SEC. 28. ASSUMED FUNDING LEVELS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL.
 It is the sense of Congress that function 500 (Education) levels assume at least a $2,000,000,000 increase in fiscal year 2001 over the current fiscal year to reflect the commitment of Congress to appropriate 40 percent of the national per pupil expenditure for children with disabilities by a date certain.