Shippensburg district warns federal Title funds on hold could cut school services

Miss DeLong, a district staff member, told the Shippensburg Area School District board that federal Title allocations the district typically uses for academic interventions and specialized services remain ‘‘on hold’’ at the federal level and the district cannot yet submit its consolidated application.

The federal funding supports Title I supplemental instruction (reading and math), Title II professional development, Title III English‑learner services and Title IV programming, DeLong said. "So part of the requirements are to have a stakeholder meeting, to discuss the purpose of the federal funds, the proposed usage of the funds, give anybody who's interested the opportunity to provide feedback on the usage of our federal funds," she said.

Why it matters: the district budgeted about $1.1 million in federal awards last year, and staff said those dollars fund salaries for reading specialists and coaches, diagnostic subscriptions and several classroom positions. DeLong said the district received $878,268 in Title I last year and used that to pay seven teachers’ salaries and benefits and to set aside required parent‑and‑family engagement funds. "We had received $878,268 in title 1, and you can see that we use that for the salary of 7 teachers and also the benefits for 7 teachers," she said.

What the district used last year: DeLong listed line items from last year’s allocations—Title I roughly $878,268, Title II about $123,000, Title III about $34,000 and Title IV about $65,000—and said those supported a mix of teacher salaries, classroom assistants, diagnostic programs (i‑Ready), technology and family‑engagement events. She said the district’s English‑learner population has grown to “well over 300 students,” and Title III funded two classroom assistants, some technology and supplemental curriculum.

Planned spending if funds are released: staff said preliminary allocations for the coming year would be lower in some categories—DeLong said a projected Title I allotment would be $844,956, about $33,303 less than the previous year—and that the district’s plan is to use available Title dollars again primarily for salaries and benefits for reading specialists and a math coach, plus the i‑Ready subscription and parent engagement set‑asides.

Homeless set‑aside and supplanting restrictions: DeLong explained federal rules that require specific set‑asides and prohibit supplanting district obligations with federal funds. On the homeless set‑aside she said the district budgets the statutory minimum: "You have to set aside at least $1," she said, adding the district typically minimizes that set‑aside because "the needs are so great" across other programs.

Timing and uncertainty: DeLong said the consolidated application is open but not yet submittable because the U.S. Department of Education has paused the release; she described receiving notice on June 30 that the awards were on hold. "They were put on hold the day before they were supposed to release," a board member said; DeLong reiterated the district will file as soon as the federal submit button is reactivated.

Discussion vs. decisions: the presentation and subsequent Q&A were informational and procedural; the board did not take formal action to change budget lines during the meeting. DeLong asked for public and parent feedback about family‑engagement activities and methods to improve outreach if and when funds are released.

Contact point: DeLong closed by inviting questions and public feedback and offering to be the district contact for federal program questions.

Ending note: staff emphasized that, while Title funds are historically dependable, the pause at the federal level—together with the absence of a state budget—creates short‑term uncertainty for staffing and program choices for the upcoming school year.