The Federal Impact Aid Program Survey is sent to parents/guardians through ParentSquare in early October. Only one parent/guardian needs to complete the information and a survey for each student is required. This information is vital because it determines how much Impact Aid funding Oak Harbor Public Schools receives from the federal government.
The Federal Impact Aid Law was passed to help make up for lost tax revenue to local districts due to non-taxable federal property in their boundaries. The amount of Impact Aid we receive is determined by the actual number of our students with parents who live or work on NAS Whidbey Island or other federal property, including Native American lands and our schools on federal property: Crescent Harbor, HomeConnection, and Hand-in-Hand. About half of our students meet these criteria. To qualify for funding, we need a completed survey for every student attending our district.
A Message from Captain Nathan J. Gammache, Commanding Officer, NAS Whidbey Island
Team Whidbey Families,
Here in North Whidbey Island, our children are provided a wonderful environment for an elementary, intermediate, and high school education. To allow this environment to flourish, school funding is essential to maintain and sustain. This is where you can help. Each year, military families with children in the local school districts can fill out an Impact Aid Form provided to them through the ParentSquare app. This form substantiates the population and requirement for federal aid funding to help the local school district in lieu of municipal school taxes being levied onto to renting military family members. For this school year (2024-2025), Impact Aid Forms will be provided starting October 1st and can be completed electronically, or a paper form can be requested and returned to your child's school. Your timely input has positive impact on securing school funding to the local school districts for the school year. Thank you for your time and effort in supporting our children’s education.
Very Respectfully,
CAPT Nathan J. Gammache
Commanding Officer, NAS Whidbey Island
Impact Aid Funding
Due to having Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) here in Oak Harbor, about half of the property value in our school district is federally owned and not taxable. School districts rely on local taxes for a variety of programs beyond the “basic education” funds the state provides. Communities, like ours, with federal land, do not receive property taxes for that land or the buildings and facilities on it. However, in 1950, Congress enacted The Federal Impact Aid Law recognizing its responsibility to schools in communities impacted by federal activities, like military bases, and committed to helping offset some of the lost revenue.
Impact Aid funds are determined by the number of students in Oak Harbor Schools whose parents live or work on NAS Whidbey Island or other non-taxed federal property, including Native American lands. Recently, this has been more than $6.5 million per year. Without these funds, we could not offer many of the award-winning programs, opportunities, and services that we do for our students.
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