The Federal Impact Aid Program Survey will be sent to parents/guardians through ParentSquare on October 1. 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.
Directions for Completing Impact Aid Form in ParentSquare
Impact Aid Survey Forms are now distributed to families via our communication platform, ParentSquare. You must be logged in and connected to Oak Harbor Public Schools in ParentSquare to complete the form. Families can also request paper copies of the form from their school sites. To support families with completing the form, please view the frequently asked questions and directions below for completing the form.
How to Complete a Form from a Web Browser
Access the form from the link provided in your email or log into your ParentSquare account and find the form in your post feed. You will need to log into your ParentSquare account in order to complete the form.
Click Complete Form and fill out the form.
Select your student in the drop down. If you have more than one student, you will need to complete the form again for each student.
Read and answer each section carefully and entirely. For families not federally-connected, you will need to write N/A in the appropriate sections in order to submit the form.
Once you have completed each section, click “Review and Sign.”
The consent form will open; Please review all information for accuracy. If your information is incorrect after signing and submitting, you will need to complete the form again. If you a find an error before signing, you can click “back to form” to make a correction.
If there are no errors, then tap “Sign Document”
Type your full name under Electronic Signature. Your name MUST be typed exactly as it appears in ParentSquare or it will not accept the signature.
Click Submit. If you do not have the ability to continue, it is because you have not typed your name in correctly.
If you need to complete another form for another student, click “complete another form.”
How to Complete a Form on the Mobile App
Log into the ParentSquare app and tap on the post with the form or access the form through the email sent to you. You will need to log into your ParentSquare account in order to complete the form.
Select the form from the post to complete it.
On your phone, you will need to click on the “form” icon at the top of the ParentSquare post in order to complete the form.
Select your student. If you have more than one student, you will need to complete the form again for each student.
Read and answer each section carefully and entirely. For families not federally-connected, you will need to write N/A in the appropriate sections in order to submit the form.
Tap “Review & Sign”
The consent form will open; Please review all information for accuracy. If your information is incorrect after signing and submitting, you will need to complete the form again. If you a find an error before signing, you can click “back to form” to make a correction.
If there are no errors, then tap “Sign Document”
Type your full name under Electronic Signature.Your name MUST be typed exactly as it appears in ParentSquare.
Click Submit. If you do not have the ability to continue, it is because you have not typed your name in correctly.
If you need to complete another form/permission slip for another child, tap Complete another form.
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