Alamo Heights ISD staff review federal grant funding, warn of audit and funding uncertainty

At a recent Alamo Heights ISD District Educational Advisory Committee meeting, Dr. Walker, a district staff member, outlined the district's federal grant awards and uses, saying the district was "randomly selected for program validations" and that a federal review could delay or change funding decisions for next year.

The presentation described how federal funds must "supplement, not supplant" local general‑fund services and listed the district's main federal awards and how the money is used. "Title I' supports struggling learners in academics, math, and reading," Dr. Walker said, and the district receives about $389,000 for Title I targeted assistance used for early‑intervention instructionists and family engagement events. Other awards she listed included roughly $100,000 for Title II professional development, $33,000 for Title III emergent bilingual supports, $31,000 for Title IV school safety and well‑rounded programs, and about $34,000 from Perkins for career and technical education supplies and curriculum.

Why it matters: those federal grants pay for people and programs that the district would otherwise have to fund from local sources. Dr. Walker cautioned that the district has been notified of a federal program validation review and that federal administrative changes could slow or reduce payments. "We were randomly selected for program validations, which is long form to say we were audited for federal programs," she said, adding that a short notice request for clarification was followed by a message that reviews could take over a month.

Details and uses of the grants Dr. Walker said Title I in Alamo Heights operates as targeted assistance rather than schoolwide programs because no campus has the threshold used for schoolwide Title I designation. She said Title I funds concentrate on K–2 early reading and math interventions at specific campuses and also support family events and some classroom materials. Title II funds, she said, support professional learning across campuses for topics such as small‑group instruction, dyslexia training and discipline‑specific content learning. Title III supports training and materials for emergent bilingual instruction; Dr. Walker said the district has about 8% emergent bilingual students and receives about $33,000 for those purposes. Title IV funds have been used for mental‑health supports and safety items, and Perkins funds are used for recurring CTE curriculum and minimal supplies.

On special education and continuity of services, Dr. Walker reminded the group that federal grants are not the district's only source for legally required services. "If federal funding goes away for special education, we still have to provide services," she said. "We would never have a student in our campuses not receiving services that we have made a commitment with their family to provide. We would just have to find a way to pay for it."

Planning implications Dr. Walker said the district typically receives planning figures for the next year in March–April and that the current validation and federal staffing changes create "a weird limbo world" for budgeting. She told committee members the district will watch developments and adjust plans as needed, including seeking additional grants and reallocating local funds when possible.

Committee discussion and follow up Committee members asked clarifying questions about how federal allocations are calculated and how the district justifies differences compared with nearby districts. Dr. Walker said federal allocations are driven by demographics and that amounts do not imply the absence of local needs. She also said the district pursues other grants—school safety, early college launch, computer science grants and local philanthropic grants—to supplement federal funds.

The presentation was informational; no formal votes or board actions were taken during the discussion. The district will monitor the federal validation review and report back to trustees and advisory groups as more information becomes available.