Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act

A report from National Public Radio examines the impact the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is having on California's rural schools. Could they come up with a more ridiculous title?

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act provided funding to rural schools to replace lost revenus from the logging industry. To make up for these lost funds, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sold off smaller parcels of land that were not contiguous to larger parts acreages. President Bush proposed selling 300,000 acres of national forests as a way of funding rural schools, but that proposal was defeated. It's now back, as part of the president's recently released budget, and the White House is withholding that funding for rural school districts unless the forest sale goes through.

I have mixed feelings about the proposal. On one hand, the NPR report shows how the loss of this revenue is hurting rural schools and communities. Why not let the Forest Service would sell off land that isn't connected to larger pieces of land land and give the proceeds to rural schools?

On the other hand, why can't the Bush administration budget money for rural schools that is not linked to selling off public lands? Another consideration is where those public lands are located. I'm familiar with one piece of land the Forest Service tried to sell. A big multi-million dollar house built on that land would not benefit the community, let alone make it more secure.