Los Al Unified Could Face Sequester Cuts Before Other Districts

Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach public schools could feel the pinch of the government sequester sooner than other local school districts, the Orange County Register reports.

Because local property taxes are a major source of revenue for schools, the Los Alamitos Unified School District – which has two military bases in its coverage area – is compensated by the federal government under the Impact Aid program .

However, school officials say the sequester could cut into that federal funding soon. 

In a previous Patch article on the Impact Aid Program in 2010 , Patricia Meyer, the district's deputy superintendent, called the funding "essential to Los Alamitos Unified School District's fiscal solvency which enables the District to continue, even during dire fiscal times, to provide educational programs that produce excellence in our students' academics, arts, athletics and active citizenship."

The OCRegister quotes Meyer more recently saying the district currently faces $150,000 less in revenue this year and $300,000 less next year with the expected 5.8 percent cuts to the district's federal allocation.

According to local officials, the Joint Forces Training Base and the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station occupy 40 percent of the the district's coverage area.

To read the full Register story, click here.

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