Star Group Veterans Helping Veterans had their regularly scheduled August monthly meeting. The SGVHV upcoming events were reviewed and members asked to sign up to help.
AUGUST EVENTS
•VA Ice Cream Social on 9th@ 2pm
• Hood Howdy on 10th Aug @10am
• Stuff the Bus 10-12 August
• StoneyBrook Ice Cream Soc on 16th Aug@ 2pm
• SG-VHV Health Fair 1st Participants/Vendors Meeting 16 Aug @ 6pm
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
• SG-VHV Health Fair Sept 15th
The guest speaker was Dr Joe Burns, Superintendent of Schools of the Copperas Cove ISD. He explained the current situation with regarding the Federal Impact Aid & taxes. The Copperas Cove Independent School District is faced with the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding because of shrinking numbers of students with ties to active duty military and is asking voters to approve a proposal that would make up some of the shortfall.
For 30 years the district has received $12 million a year in federal impact aid to offset the impact of Fort Hood, which doesn’t pay local property taxes, but whose dependents attend local schools. This Federal impact aid has been beneficial for Copperas Cove ISD. However by 2020, the district will no longer receive that funding. For school districts to get the aid, 35 percent of the children enrolled must have an active duty military connection. In Copperas Cove, the percentage has dropped steadily and now stands at just 18 percent. And as the number of military children dropped, so did the impact aid payments. As the percentages declined CCISD started making cuts by consolidating pre-k, no more all day kindergarten and several schedule changes in secondary schools.
The district is proposing to shift a portion of the debt retirement rate to maintenance and operations, which will require voter approval. The district’s current maintenance and operation rate is $1.04 and the debit retirement rate is 18 cents. The proposal voters are being asked to approve would reduce the debt retirement tax rate to 5 cents and increase the maintenance and operation rate to $1.17.
“If the voters can do that for the district and say YES, then that will provide Copperas Cove ISD with over $4 million that it wouldn’t have otherwise.”
This Federal Impact aid is also affecting Killeen and Harker Heights Independent School District whose military student percentages are also declining.
The Copperas Cove tax ratification election is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Early voting runs from Aug. 22 to Sept. 4.