District staff briefed the Othello School District Board on potential local effects of a federal government shutdown and related staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Education.

"There have already been some cuts at the Department of Education at the federal level. There were some more that came out, in the last 24 hours. So in particular, the special ed services at the federal level at almost 500 employees were let go," Dr. Meek said. He said the district has seen immediate access issues: staff working on a grant were uncertain whether they would be able to submit because the people who would give permission to apply were not at work.

Dr. Meek said existing federal funding for programs is expected to continue for now, but that state and local districts should expect "some gaps in services until that all gets figured out" because fewer federal staff could slow grant approvals and compliance assistance. He referred to a statement from Reykdal (named in the meeting) that reflected similar uncertainty about near-term operational impacts.

"What it will mean is some grant things might get more difficult," Dr. Meek said. "We're working on a grant right now that Dr. Meek has been working on for about a week. We're not sure we're even gonna get to apply because the people that would give us permission to apply are at work." (quote reconstructed from meeting remarks)

Why it matters: Reduced federal staffing can delay grant approvals, reduce technical assistance and make it harder for districts to get immediate answers on compliance and implementation. The board was told the long-term flow of funding is not yet clearly affected, but day-to-day access to federal reviewers and grant officials is likely to be limited.

What’s next: District staff said they will monitor developments, continue submitting applications as possible and advise the board if any programmatic or funding changes require local action.