After inquiring about the potential of other towns chipping in to pay for the education of children living on sovereign tribal land, the Aquinnah select board learned this week that the responsibility falls solely to the town.
Aquinnah is responsible for paying all of the education costs for students living on sovereign land owned by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), according to a legal opinion from the school system.
The Aquinnah select board raised tax concerns about the educational costs last month, and sent a letter to superintendent Richard Smith asking if the expense could be shared by the other five Vineyard towns.
But an opinion from school attorney Nancy Campany released this week stated that the provisions of the regional agreement for the Up-Island Region School District do not shift financial responsibility to any other towns; Aquinnah is required to pay for all of the education costs for children within the town’s boundaries.
The opinion was shared at the school district’s committee meeting this week. The news was anticipated by Aquinnah select board Tom Murphy, but still raises tax concerns for the small town.
According to Mr. Murphy, Aquinnah currently spends more than $1 million each year in education costs for students living on sovereign land, a high expense for the town’s taxpayers.
The legal opinion states that there are many types of real estate parcels across the state that are exempt from local real estate taxation, including federal and state lands, along with educational institutions. Children that live on these lands are still entitled to education, according to the letter.
Mr. Murphy said the tribe and its members are an integral part of the whole Island, and many in Aquinah feel that it is unfair that the expense falls solely on their town.
“I think it’s the town’s intent to look for other financing alternatives...” Mr. Murphy said. “The tribe and the culture of the Wampanoag Tribe is really the DNA of the entire Island.”
Mr. Murphy said Aquinnah is not eligible for federal funding through the Johnson O’Malley Act, which provides aid for the education of tribal students, since the population of tribal children in town is too low.
At a select board meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Murphy said the town is looking into a 1987 U.S. code that states for the purpose of eligibility for federal services, members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) residing on Martha’s Vineyard shall be deemed to be living on or near an “Indian reservation.”
“What that does is increases the number of students that may allow us to qualify for impact aid,” Mr. Murphy said in an interview with the Gazette.
Mr. Murphy said the town is still exploring the code and has given the information to the schools superintendent.
Comments
“The tribe and the culture of
Ellen Chilmark“The tribe and the culture of the Wampanoag Tribe is really the DNA of the entire Island.”
This is very true. I hope Mr. Murphy is successful in getting more funding.
Maybe they can start a GoFundMe site that is posted at events around the island.
The tribal students should be
AnonymousThe tribal students should be eligible for federal funding through the Johnson O’Malley Act. Why does the amount of students matter?
Exactly, this is what the
EJExactly, this is what the Johnson O'Malley Act is for!
The under lining problem here
Bob EdgartownThe under lining problem here is the cost of Education not so much who pays for it. Aquinnah should pay for it's own like all the other towns do and not try to dream up a reason why they should not. Better approach would be to try and get education costs in line as they seem to go up every year and more than inflation does so something is very wrong.
That’s not the underlying
Ted WTThat’s not the underlying issue at all. The challenge is that a large percentage of Aquinnah’s children live on tribal lands and those lands generate no revenue for the town but the town is expected to pay for their education out of its own coffers. It is a unique problem that the other towns on island do not have to deal with.
The law is that each town is
Michael EdgartownThe law is that each town is responsible for their own student education costs. That is the way it is in the state of Massachusetts. A great solution is to look at how to responsibly reduce costs and at a maximum keep increases in check with inflation and if that cannot reduce expenditures cut services. Also could look into using some of the annual multi million dollar college scholarships for high school student expenditures if the town of Aquinnah cannot afford their fair share.
It is true towns are
tom BostonIt is true towns are "responsible for their own student education costs." But are the students in question really Aquinnah's responsibility considering they live in a sovereign nation that just happens to be located in Aquinnah? Since these students live in households that don't pay town taxes, are they really the town's responsibility when it comes to educational costs? Nobody is arguing tribal children who don't live on tribal land shouldn't be the responsibility of the town in which they live, including Aquinnah. It's a complex question.
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