Swain County would like to pursue Federal Impact Aid valued up to $750,000 annually for its schools. The program is designed to assist counties disadvantaged financially due to the presence of either a large amount of federally-owned land or federally-connected students. Federally-connected students include those with parents in the military or otherwise working on federal property, Native Americans, and residents of public housing or Native American reservations. The aid is provided to 9.8% of the nation’s school districts, supplying as much as 75% of operational funding for some.
Additional funding is available for Heavily Impacted Districts. Some qualifying criteria for these districts would be location on a military base, a high percentage of federally-connected students, high tax rates, or low revenues.
