Stacy Kramer, the district's grant coordinator, on Tuesday presented a preview of USD 501's annual needs assessment and said the document will drive budgeting and program decisions for the coming year. Kramer told the board the needs assessment aggregates school improvement plans, root-cause analyses, staffing ratios and school-level requests and that building teams were invited to revise the draft before submission.
The presentation matters because the district relies on multiple federal grants for targeted services. Kramer and district staff described a mix of federal Title programs and discretionary grants that currently support professional development, English-learner services, technology and out-of-school programming. "This is a legal requirement we have to run through a needs assessment, and that needs assessment is part of our budgeting process," Kramer said.
District staff and board members spent most of the discussion on the potential impact if several federal funding streams remain impounded. A district finance staff member, identified in the meeting as Mr. Minky, said district leadership has requested additional carryover from the U.S. Department of Education to cover immediate needs this year but cautioned that carryover is finite. "At some point... when those carryover dollars are expended and then we start kind of eating into current year dollars... we'll have to make the difficult decisions... to reduce those programs and reduce our footprint in those spaces," Minky said.
Board members and staff also discussed specific program amounts referenced in the presentation. Minky reported the approximate awards from the most recent year as: Title II-A (professional development) about $676,000; Title III (English-language services) about $136,900; Title IV-A (well-rounded/technology and enrichment) about $312,000; and Title IV-B (foster-care and family supports) about $116,000. The district also noted 21st Century (before-and-after school) funding; staff gave two figures during the meeting — roughly $390,000 for last year's award and, separately, a $510,000 figure tied to an additional 21st Century grant awarded at Meadows this year.
Kramer described recurring needs identified across schools: chronic absenteeism and truancy, student mobility during the school year, a shortage of bus drivers affecting transportation and late dismissal at some buildings, and ongoing demand for mental-health and trauma-informed services. Kramer said schools are using classroom technology (smart boards and iPads for early grades), expanded literacy and math interventions, half-time improvement coaches for a subset of schools, apprenticeship programs (24 apprentices this year) and partnerships such as the Topeka Metro for student transportation.
The district agreed to publish a one-page graphic explaining where Title and federal funds are spent. Board members encouraged using the handout for public advocacy to show the specific programs that could be affected if federal funding is reduced or impounded. No formal board action to adopt the needs assessment or change budgets was recorded at the meeting; staff said updated drafts and the graphic will be shared with the board and posted on the district website.
Questions from board members included what would happen to parochial schools that receive flow-through meal funding if federal meal reimbursements were not available; a staff member (Mr. Busey) said the district passes those funds through and, if there is no funding, the district would not be able to pass that funding along. Superintendent and finance staff also noted that some special-education (Title VI-B) funds have not been impounded to date.
The board and staff emphasized that, while carryover can cover immediate needs, sustained impoundment or federal cuts would likely require program reductions affecting English learners, foster students and other high-need populations.