Assistant Superintendent Carl Lobos told the Pasco School Board that the U.S. Department of Education, via the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, has instructed districts to plan on continued funding only for Title I Part A next year. "We've been notified by the U. S. Department of Education, through OSPI, to only plan on continued funding for Title 1, Part A," Lobos said, and warned that "the programs listed on this slide will receive significant cuts or elimination altogether." Lobos said the anticipated impact to Pasco is "close to $4,000,000 of revenue and services that our students currently receive."

Why it matters: Title II, Title III, Title IV and other federal grants fund professional development, multilingual learner supports, STEM and social-emotional programming that district administrators said currently supplement core services. Losing those funds will require budget changes, reallocation of local resources or program reductions affecting intervention, coaching, bilingual services and enrichment programs.

District staff described what each title pays for. Lobos said Title II supports professional development and instructional coaches; Title III supports English language development and the WIDA assessment pathway to identify multilingual learners; Title IV funds technology, STEM and some social-emotional learning work; and the Title I Part C migrant program serves qualifying migrant students. The board heard that many of those activities are embedded in schools across the district and would be difficult to absorb without outside funds.

Board members and the superintendent discussed next steps. Superintendent Michelle Whitney said the district will plan proactively and provide timely updates to the board as the state and federal guidance evolve. Whitney also told the board she would support advocacy: "I personally don't want to sit idly by, as we lose millions of dollars for our most marginalized and needy students," she said, and several trustees discussed drafting letters to members of Congress and engaging the district's Student Action Council in outreach.

OSPI and state-level context: Lobos said the information came from OSPI communications that relay federal guidance to all states. When trustees asked whether the state would backfill the loss, Lobos said he had heard from the state superintendent that it was "highly unlikely" the state could replace those federal dollars.

What the board asked staff to do: Trustees asked staff to prepare budget scenarios and to return with formal recommendations. Board members also asked for a draft advocacy letter to federal representatives; staff recommended bringing such a letter as an agendaed report so the board could vote to send it.

Next steps: District staff said they will present planned budget adjustments and more-detailed impact analyses to the board as additional federal and state guidance arrives, and the board signaled support for coordinated advocacy to elected officials.

Sources: Report and statements by Assistant Superintendent Carl Lobos and Superintendent Michelle Whitney at the Pasco School Board meeting.