MUROC UNIFIED SHIFTS FEDERAL GRANT TACTICS WITH DECLINING ENROLLMENT, DISTRICT TIGHTENING ITS BELT.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

NORTH EDWARDS - Faced with continued deficit spending and declining federal aid, Muroc Joint Unified School District officials are trying to get more government money based on the amount of federal land in the district, which is home to Edwards Air Force Base.

The federal impact aid the district receives now is based on the number of students whose active-duty parents live on base, but the district has lost about 250 of those students in the last couple of years as Edwards' military work force decreased.

"One reason is the base privatizes a lot of operations. When they changed 1,000 jobs to civilian jobs, we lose 250 to 300 active-duty families that have kids in our schools," Superintendent Mike Summerbell said.

Another factor is an increase in military families who live in Lancaster, Rosamond or elsewhere rather than on the base.

"It used to be that they would try to house as many as they can. Now they do a study of available housing in the surrounding communities, and if they say there's enough housing in the surrounding communities for 35 percent of the military people, they downsize the housing on the base," Summerbell said.

Nearly a quarter of Muroc's operating revenue comes from the federal impact aid: $4.8 million annually, but officials estimate it could soon drop to $4 million.

Muroc has 2,300 students and a operating budget this year of $21 million.

The purpose of impact aid is to provide a source of revenue because the 301,000-acre base and its residents are exempt from local taxes, Summerbell said.

Since Muroc is not getting the full amount it is eligible for under the student-count formula, it is applying to qualify for a second source of federal impact aid based on land value.

"You calculate the amount of federal property in the district, look at neighboring privately owned property around the federal property and estimate ... what the value would have been if it had not been federal property," Summerbell said. "You send the information in and get money based on the land value."

Muroc has had budget deficits for the last five years, a not uncommon fiscal condition because 522 districts, more than half of the districts in the state, are deficit spending, Summerbell said.

Muroc stays afloat by using money from a reserve fund to balance its budgets. This year, the district moved more than $486,000 from the fund to cover the deficit, dropping the fund to about $1 million.

Muroc is looking at ways to cut costs, including charging students for bus transportation, charging fees for playing sports, and having a different lunch program that would offer a more limited a la carte selection, like sandwiches, Summerbell said.

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