PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay District School’s officials are asking parents to perform an important task, fill out federal impact card information.
Federal impact cards determine how much federal funding the district receives to enhance student education.
Every November, parents of Bay District School students are tasked with filling out federal impact cards.
The card allows individuals to self-identify their affiliation with the federal government.
“It’s very important for us to gain this information,’ said Bay District School’s Superintendent Mark McQueen.
All parents need to complete the form, but it’s especially crucial for military families.
The program reimburses schools for any loss of revenue from being near nontaxable federal property, like military bases.
“It’s very important because as it takes on a lot of dollars and resources to affect and improve our school district. And the more federal funding that is received, the less reliance and dependency that we have to have on local ad valorem tax, for example,” McQueen said.
Of the 28,000 students in Bay District Schools last year, about 4% had parents involved with the military.
“We really are trying to encourage our men and women who are affiliated with the federal government, whether they’re civilian or military guard reserve. It doesn’t matter to participate,” McQueen said.
The money will go to put more technology into classrooms, improve the student transportation system, and much more.
This will be the first year that people will be able to complete the form online through the district’s parent portal.
“It takes less than 5 minutes to self-identify. And we really appreciate all of the military members in our community,” McQueen said.
The last day to apply is December 31.
For a link to the federal impact card form click here.
