Senator Burns on Montana's Rural Schools

Mr. Rural ED's series on congressional perspectives on rural schools continues with comments from Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana).

One of the greatest challenges we have is to revolutionize education in rural areas such as Montana, where current technological capabilities may be lacking. There is nothing more important to me than making sure our kids have the education they need to get ahead in today’s competitive world. I have always championed programs such as E-Rate, which ensure that our schools have access to up-to-date technology.

While I understand the importance of ensuring that America’s young people have a strong educational foundation, I am aware that when the No Child Left Behind Act is applied to rural schools, it is not a perfect law. I have spoken with many educators around Montana and heard their concerns about Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements, Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) requirements, the assessment of special education students, and finally, funding issues.

I have always said that if the federal government is going to continue setting requirements and educational standards, we have to be prepared to adequately fund those rules so states like Montana can meet those challenges and continue to support the teachers and the students. Rules that make sense in New York or California are often cumbersome and expensive for rural states like Montana. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have worked hard to secure funds for a variety of critical education programs. However, funding cannot be our only focus. Presently, I am working with the Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Montana’s education community to improve various aspects of NCLB. It is imperative that local schools are granted more flexibility in deciding the educational needs of Montana’s students.

Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act

Should the federal government sell off land to support rural schools? That's the issue behind legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to fund the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act without selling public lands.

The bill will raise $2.6 billion over the next ten years for the rural schools program, commonly known as the county payments law, by closing a tax loophole that allows some government contractors to avoid their tax obligations. In 2005, Wyden, along with Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Baucus, introduced a bill to reauthorize the county payments law for another seven years. The original law is due to expire at the end of this year.

The bill is in response to the Bush Administration's proposal to sell as many as 300,000 acres of Forest Service lands to raise about $800 million for the program. The legislation would provide a steady revenue stream for the county payments law by closing a tax loophole in Federal contracts. Under current law, the Federal government does not withhold taxes owed from government contractors that provide goods and services to the Federal government. As a result, some contractors don’t comply with Federal tax law.

“Our bill will fully fund the rural schools program without selling even one acre of our prized public lands,” said Baucus, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy. “Our public lands shouldn’t be put up for sale to the highest bidder. The Administration challenged congress to find a way to fund this program -- Ron and I just did.”

“Rural communities throughout the country rely on these payments for top quality schools and infrastructure year in and year out,” said Wyden. “We cannot abandon them, and this legislation finds a fiscally responsible way of extending this successful law.”

The county payments law, first enacted in 2000, established a six-year payment formula for counties that receive revenue sharing payments for the USFS and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Based on historical timber receipts, the formula established a stable source of revenue to be used for education, roads and various other county services in rural areas.

Senator Baucus, along with Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colorado), was one of the first members of Congress to condemn the land sales proposal.

Rural Students & Reading

Rural 12th grade students who were eligible for free and reduced priced lunches scored higher on the 2003 NAEP Reading Assessment than did those from central cities and urban fringes. Ok, rural students scored only 1 point higher than urban students, but it was 9 points higher than city students. This is good news for rural students and those who believe rural schools have inherent strengths.

The bad news is that rural students as a group scored the same as city students but were 5 points below their urban fringe counterparts. The moral of the story is that rural schools can do great things but there is room for improvement.

Click on the thumbnail below to see the full-size table.

NREA Mini Grant Program

This just in from the National Rural Education Association home office in Norman, Oklahoma:

Please be reminded the deadline to make application for the 2006-2007 NREA Mini Grant Program is May 1, 2006. The NREA Mini Grant Program is sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The generous contribution made by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association funds ten NREA Mini Grants for rural school districts served by rural electric cooperatives.

NREA CARES Award

This announcement is from the National Rural Education Association.

Great American Financial Resources Incorporated has entered into a partnership with the NREA to sponsor the NREA CARES Award. This award will be presented to a rural school district in recognition of outstanding effort to build strong ties between the school district and the community it serves.

The $5000 award will be presented to a NREA School District Member at the 98th Annual Convention in Kansas City on October 23, 2006.

The receiving school district must be a NREA School District Member.

Senator Baucus on Rural Education

Max Baucus (D-Montana) is one of the few U.S. Senators who has something specifically to say on his website about rural schools:

Rural Education: I'm very proud of Montana's schools, and I've always worked to ensure that all of our schools receive the funding and assistance they need in order to provide a high quality education for our kids. I've been especially vocal about the unique needs of our rural schools during my time in the Senate. I pushed for the creation of the Rural Education Achievement Program to provide additional federal funds to rural schools, and I'm currently fighting to expand funding for the program to assist rural schools even more. In addition, I joined Senators Enzi and Conrad in forming a new Senate Rural Education Caucus in January 2003, and we are working hard to highlight the needs as well as the strengths of America's rural schools.

Local Control

One value that seems to be common among rural educators is the belief in the local control of schools. I'm not quite sure what that means in practice, particularly given the plethora of federal and state education mandates.

Senator Wayne Allard, Republican of Colorado, is clear about his position on local control:

It is important that education remain locally controlled. Those closest to the students are in the best position to know their educational needs. Parents and school boards should be able to tailor educational curriculum to local needs. Federal financial support should not encumber local programs with federal mandates. After all, the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow and it is essential that we prepare them for what lies ahead. We must continue to search for ways to make a good system of education even better. more

Of particular note is the senator's position that parents and school boards are responsible for school curriuculum. The idea that parents have a role in curriculum decisions will come as news to many parents and educators.

The Broad Prize for Urban Education

The Broad Foundation has announced that five urban school districts are finalists for the 2006 Broad Prize for Urban Education, an annual $1 million prize given to urban school districts that have made the greatest increases in student achievement.

The five finalists are:
Boston Public Schools
Bridgeport Public Schools, Conn.
Jersey City School District, N.J.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
New York City Department of Education

The Broad Prize honors the nation's urban school districts that improve student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between high- and low-income students. The winning district will receive $500,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors. Each finalist district will receive $125,000 in scholarships. The winner will be announced on Sept. 19 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Congratulations to everyone in those districts for their accomplishments and to the Broad Foundation for undertaking the program.

What does this have to do with rural education? Simply that there's isn't a rural equivalent to the Broad Prize. Why? I'm not sure, but it doesn't help to whine about it. Perhaps it's because no one has taken the initiative to find a foundation willing to take it on. Anybody want to take a stab at it?

A Big Eastern Syndicate

It was Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas who spilled the beans that Christmas was actually run by a big eastern syndicate. It's starting to look like rural education is too.

A case in point is the upcoming revision of The Condition of Education in Rural Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. Rumors are that the authors of the different sections are all from the east coast with the exception of Bob Newhouse from Kansas State University. Is there nobody from west of Kansas who could have been a contributor on the project?

It's been about 12 years since the USDE published The Condition of Education in Rural Schools edited by Joyce Stern. The original report was a comprehensive look at the state of education in rural communities and is considered an important resource. The report covers the years 1980 to 1990 and is really outdated. About 5 years ago there were discussions about updating the report but USDE officials decided instead to develop a website using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. NCES has done a commendable job of keeping up-to-date data and information on the Navigating Resources for Rural Schools site.

The updating of The Condition of Education in Rural Schools is an important event for rural education. Of concern is that the only perspective represented in the report will be that of the eastern Rural-Cons. The incredible diversity of rural places is one of the challenges facing anyone attempting to do a national rural education report. Honoring that diversity should be a goal of the USDE.

Rural School Grant Writing Myths

The Top 5 Grant Writing Myths from Education Strategy Group's Grant Writing for Rural Schools and Communities Workshop

1. Rural schools can't get grants.
Lots of rural schools get grants and there are some grants that are specifically for rural schools and communities.

2. Grant writing is difficult.
Grant writing takes skill and like any skill takes practice and effort.

3. Grants always go to the projects that have the greatest needs.
Having a need is only part of what funders are looking for in a proposal. You also have to have a sound plan for addressing those needs.

4. Collaborating with others to write a grant will save time.
Collaborating with others to prepare a grant actually takes more time because there has to be coordination among the partners.

5. A well-written proposal will get funded every time.
Having a well-written is important, but it's absolutely critical that the proposal match the criteria for funding.

To learn more about the Grant Writing for Rural Schools and Community workshop contact Michael Arnold 720-641-3934 or Hobart Harmon 540-901-9932.

High Speed Internet Access

High speed internet access is no longer a luxury for rural communities wanting to participate in the knowledge economy. Voters in Timnath, Colorado have voted to offer free wireless internet to all 223 residents. A farming community between Ft. Collins and Windsor, Timnath lies in the path of impending growth that is being seen alll along the I-25 corridor in Colorado. An article in today's Denver Post reports Mayor Donna Benson hopes the free service will create economic growth that will eventually pay for the service.

Residents and businesses in Eads, Colorado, a town of 850 located in southeast Colorado also have access to wireless internet through Plains Network Services. Owner Jeanne Sorenson saw a need for the service and people have responsed. For those unfamiliar with Colorado it's worth noting that Ead's situation is diffenent from Timnath in that it's not in a high growth area.

As more rural communities get wireless access the opportunities increase for rural Americans to participate in the Knowledge Economy. Economic sustainability for many communities will require people with education levels higher than ever before. Rural schools should consider these new opportunities in thinking about their instructional programs.

Immigration Issues in Rural America

Immigration has been a hot issue in the news. Denver Post columnist Ed Quillen offers a perspective from rural Colorado. Among the issues, are language and cultural differences and the effects these new immigrants have on the local schools and economy.

Before going any further I should point out that Mr. Quillen is refering to the problem of suburban immigration to rural America. Some excerpts:

Language Differences

For one thing, there are language problems. They do not speak as we do. Few of them know a "widowmaker jack" from a "come-along," or even a "mule" from a "burro. If you refer to "my beater," they think you're talking about a kitchen tool rather than your vehicle. And when they speak, we have trouble understanding that a "BlackBerry" is an electronic device rather than something to eat.

Food Differences

It used to be simple to order "meat and potatoes" as in "burger and fries" or "sausage and hash browns" or "sirloin and baked." Now those items are a small portion of the menu if they're there at all. The immigrants have encouraged our eateries to offer organic muffins for breakfast, garden-fresh salads for lunch and braised boneless free-range skinless chicken breasts for dinner. Immigration has made it hard to find real food here, because these people insist on keeping their bizarre culture after moving to our country.

Economic Effects

My plumber recently explained that he was getting out of the repair end of the business. "I can work on clean, new construction for $50 an hour," he explained, "or crawl around in the cramped grungy cellars in the old part of town for half that. Which would you rather do?" Thus do the immigrants burden the local economy, by forcing long-time residents to pay more not just for plumbers, but also for carpenters, glaziers, masons, roofers, electricians, auto mechanics and computer technicians.

Most rural communities have to decide between two types of death. One caused by an out-migration and another caused by the in-migration of suburbanites. It's hard to say which choice is better.

NCES Locale Code Revision

The National Center for Education Statistics has released its revised 8-category locale code classification system. The new system incorporates changes in the Office of Management and Budget’s definition of “rural” that were adopted for the 2000 Decennial Census. At first glance this new classification scheme appears to be an improvement.

Locale codes are measures of a school’s location relative to populous areas. Every U.S. school is identified into one 8 categories that range from large city to rural. The new urban-centric locale codes follow the same logic as the original locale code system, but prioritize population size and distance from an urbanized area. They include four basic categories (city, suburban, town, rural) each of which is subdivided by either size or distance from an urbanized area.

Users can download a new file that includes geocoding information for 100,593 public schools reported on the Common Core of Data School Universe Survey for the 2003-04 school year. The information includes the NCES school identification code; latitude and longitude of the reported address; and two locale codes. I've never seen anyone make use of the latitude and longitude data so I'm hoping someone will figure out a project soon.