Congressman Rick Larsen visited Crescent Harbor Elementary Thursday afternoon to tout a victory for Oak Harbor and other school districts serving large numbers of military children.

Larsen pushed for passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which increases money that Oak Harbor School District and other communities with a large number of military personnel receive.

The bill also ensures school districts receive money in a timely matter and lowers the threshold on the percentage of students a district needs to receive such aid.

At one time, it took the Oak Harbor School District up to six years to receive money if they had an influx of military dependents, said schools Superintendent Lance Gibbon.

“Congressman Larsen has been a tireless advocate for education, military children and Impact Aid,” he said. “His partnership and support for Oak Harbor schools has been tremendous.”

This fall 188 more students with military parents enrolled in Oak Harbor schools than the year before, Gibbon said.

Thanks to the new law, the district will be able to get money for those students this year — he said he expects somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000.

Most school funding comes from local property taxes. Families on military bases don’t pay local property taxes, and thus the local schools lose out on a large source of funding. Federal programs through the Department of Defense and Department of Education were designed to make up the difference.

At the high point in 2002, the district received $5.5 million in Department of Education impact aid. Last year, the district expected to receive less than half that amount.

“At one time, it make up more than 100 percent of the lost tax revenue due to the federal property in Oak Harbor,” Gibbon said. “Today it makes up less than half, leaving Oak Harbor with fewer total dollars per student than neighboring districts.”

Some Department of Defense money has been restored for the next school year and the new law will allow the district to recoup money for new military students sooner, said Vicki Williams, director of business services for the district.

But it’s not a complete fix.

“While both are good news, we are still behind where we were at the high point in our funding,” she said.