GADSDEN, N.M. — Superintendent Dempsey and district federal-programs staff told the Gadsden Independent School District Board of Education they learned in mid‑summer that some federal awards — including Title II, Title III and Title IV allocations — were frozen by the U.S. Department of Education, putting planned programs and staff funding at risk.

At a July board meeting, Rosie Villalobos, associate superintendent for federal programs, said the district had planned specific positions and services tied to the awards and that those plans now cannot proceed as budgeted. She said Title II supported mentor coordinators, instructional coaches and a national‑board certification stipend; Title III supported language instruction and bilingual program costs; and Title IV funded technology, STEM and social‑emotional learning initiatives.

"We were supposed to receive this year" for Title II, Villalobos said, and for Title IV "there's $634,000 that we're gonna be cutting on us," and Title III funding for English learners was described as about $500,000. Villalobos said the freeze will "jeopardize ongoing services and full‑time employees that we have under the federal funds." Superintendent Dempsey said the district is meeting weekly to manage the situation and emphasized a personnel priority: "we always focus on people over program." He said the district has already begun moving some positions out of federal funding into operational budgets where possible, but cautioned that moving positions can create limits on later use of federal funds (a supplanting issue).

Board members asked for clarity on which programs will be affected and urged patience as staff work through the budget consequences. Several board members said they planned to update families once the district has firmer information. During the discussion, a board member confirmed that McKinney‑Vento services for homeless students remain funded under Title I and are not part of the freeze.

The board did not take formal action on the item; staff described an ongoing management process and said they will report back with updates in September or when more federal guidance is available.

Why it matters: Titles II, III and IV support mentoring, bilingual and enrichment programs that district leaders had already budgeted and tied to staff positions. A prolonged funding freeze could change which services are available when school starts and may affect staffing aligned to those grants.

What happens next: District leaders said they will continue weekly budget and staffing reviews, seek to protect employees where possible, and return to the board with fuller information when federal guidance or final allocations are received.