Carson City School District budget and grants staff briefed the Board of Trustees on July 22 about the status of the district’s federal, state and local grant awards and how several temporarily frozen federal grants could affect staffing and services for FY 2026. The presentation covered multiple programs including Title I, Title II-A, Title III, Title IV-A, IDEA, Carl Perkins, ARP/ESSER, McKinney‑Vento and AB 495 funding for school social workers.

Why it matters: district leaders said they have rearranged spending to continue services through the start of the school year and plan contingency moves if frozen grants remain unavailable; several partial positions now funded by grants may need to shift to the general fund if awards are not released.

Spencer, a district grants staff member who presented the packet, told trustees the packet is a continuation of a June 24 presentation and walked through each grant by page number. He said Title I is no longer frozen. "Title 1 has been reviewed and is back on. So I don't I don't foresee that the funding would change for that, but, again, that's only my opinion. My crystal ball is very cloudy," he said. Spencer said the grants team has rearranged expenditures and used FY '25 funds where possible to keep programming operating until the federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

District staff described four federal grant streams the district currently considered frozen or at risk: Title III, Title II-A (including Immigrant), and Title IV-A. Combined, trustees and staff estimated the frozen amounts from those grants at roughly $540,000. Trustees and staff also discussed other federal grants that are winding down by FY 26, including several ARP/ESSER supplements that the district used in prior years for temporary positions and services.

Staff said the district had already moved some positions off COVID-era ESSER and other expiring grants and that the grants office and program leads have covered many early‑year costs using prior-year carryover. Spencer said the grants team had used previous-year dollars to buy platforms and materials (examples cited include Rosetta Stone and Elevation) to preserve services if funding were not immediately available.

Trustees asked how staffing would be handled if the frozen awards remain unavailable. The district reported that 2.2 full-time-equivalent positions (one full FTE and two partial FTEs that are split-funded) are likely to shift to the general fund if those federal grants remain frozen; if awards are later unfrozen, the district may be able to retroactively reassign costs but that outcome depends on guidance from federal/state agencies.

The presentation named several specific grant-line impacts and approximate dollar amounts disclosed by staff: Carl Perkins expected to be about $5,000 less than the prior year; IDEA program materials declined from $319,000 budgeted in FY 25 to a projected $89,000 in FY 26; Title III revenue previously budgeted at about $99,000; an Immigrant grant near $27,000; IDEA early childhood showing roughly $75,000 in FY 25 with a smaller FY 26 projection. Staff also identified the bipartisan Safe for Communities grant as funding nearly three positions (two full FTEs and 88 percent of another) in FY 25; most of those positions have been reallocated to other funding sources for FY 26.

Discussion and next steps: trustees asked for an update as soon as more information is available, with staff saying they expect additional clarity by Sept. 30 but could receive answers earlier. Spencer said the grants team and departments have contingency plans to cover approximately the first 90 days of the school year from available resources while awaiting final federal/state decisions.

No formal action was taken; this was a discussion-only workshop item. The district said it will provide electronic copies of the grants packet to trustees and will report back when award or freeze status changes. Staff cautioned trustees that, depending on state and federal guidance, money spent prior to a decision could have to remain in the general fund even if awards are later released, and that the district is tracking options to temporarily reassign staffing and adjust general‑fund budgets if necessary.