Secure Rural Schools Act passes through Congress

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act got new life breathed into it when it was added to the economic bailout plan.

The Secure Rural Schools portion was in jeopardy after last week it failed to pass on another bill it was attached to in the U.S. House of Representatives.

However, it looks like the funding will be available to counties in 39 states, including Montana. The Senate passed the bill on Oct. 1, with the House approving it Oct. 3, President Bush signed it into law the same day.

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was attached onto the economic bailout package by Sen. Max Baucus, as a way to get the bill to pass.

The extension of SRS passed in Congress doubles the amount of money that counties were previously receiving.

Sanders County is slated to receive a total of $11,621,619 from 2008-2012, when the extension runs out.

For 2008-09 the county will receive $3,379,360, for 2009-10 the county will get $3,041,424, for 2010-11 the county will receive $2,737,282, and then for 2011-12 Sanders County will receive $2,463,553.

Counties across the state of Montana had been in some trouble when it looked like the money wasn't going to get passed. Fortunately Sanders County Commissioners did not count on the funds and budgeted accordingly. There were some counties across the state, that were quite worried about budgeting for this money.

While the county budget is set and this money won't be received immediately, it is a great relief to those who worried about the future.

“This money will be a huge help,” County Clerk and Recorder Jennine Robbins said. “We were luckily able to get the budget together without it, but that doesn't mean that we can't use this money.”

The money is designated to be used in specific areas. According to County Commissioner Hank Laws, about a third of the money goes directly to the schools in the county and the other two-thirds mainly goes to the county road departments, with some of it going into the general fund.

This money makes up nearly 40 percent of the road budget for Sanders County, and with road conditions a hot button issue in this year's county commissioner race, this money will be a big help.

Laws said he would like to see this made permanent, however there are no obvious signs that it will ever be a permanent fixture. So while this helps control the bleeding for the next few years, most people are in agreement that a better solution needs to be brought about, so the county is not always scrambling for money.

At the second commissioner forum, both Tony Cox and Cindy Iversen said that they believed that something needed to be done, so the county wasn't always in a bind every time this money isn't passed.