At a special Douglas Unified School District governing board meeting, district staff reported that the U.S. Department of Education has placed a hold on several federal formula and competitive grants, and outlined a contingency plan to preserve grant-funded positions while the hold remains in effect.

The hold “is on all federal funding including Title I, Title II, Title III, [and] Title IV,” said Miss Samaniego (district grants administrator), who presented the summary and financial impacts to the board. She said the district’s immediate exposure if all affected obligations were not funded is $623,963.17.

Why it matters: the hold affects programs that fund staff and student services across the district. Miss Samaniego listed estimated shortfalls by program that the hold could cause if payments are not released: about $163,796.85 for Title II (professional development/new teacher induction), $97,060.72 for Title III (ELL services), roughly $160,000 for a 21st Century after-school program, and smaller impacts tied to Title I-c (migrant) positions. She said the total statewide hold was large — the number presented to the board was $134,300,000 — and reiterated the district-level exposure of about $623,963.17 if those funds are not ultimately obligated.

District contingency and constraints

Staff described a narrow contingency: using Title I carryover and existing balances within federal grants to temporarily fund four positions that are most at risk while waiting for federal guidance. Miss Samaniego said staff believe the district could “operate without making any changes right now” by using carryover and other grant flexibility to keep four positions funded for the remainder of the school year, but only if the board authorizes that approach and the department ultimately approves any grant revisions.

Miss Moen (grants staff, new director) said she had already emailed specialists at ADE and at the federal level and will follow up to obtain written guidance. Miss Cox (former grants director, now in human resources) told the board she did not foresee an immediate technical barrier to moving some positions into Title I’s district set‑aside for professional development, noting Title I’s recent revisions to include professional development set‑asides.

Board concerns and legal/audit risk

Multiple board members warned about audit risk. Mister Lindeman (board member) cautioned that if administration moved positions into Title I while the federal hold targeted those same poverty‑linked programs, a future federal audit could find an improper use of funds and require repayment. “If you moved those positions into the Title I grant and they come back and say you used the money when we specifically told you to hold it, you could have an audit finding,” Lindeman said.

Miss Samaniego and other staff repeatedly framed the contingency as strictly provisional: no staff will be moved into other grant accounts until a grant revision is approved by the director and until the district receives written confirmation. “We can’t move anybody unless that grant is approved by the director,” Samaniego said.

Program-level consequences described for stakeholders

Staff explained program-specific consequences if particular grants remain unfunded: 21st Century after‑school offerings could be cancelled (the program funds coordinators, after‑school teachers and summer days); Title III shortfalls could reduce the district’s capacity to pay for an additional ELL coach; and Title II shortfalls would affect professional development and the new teacher induction supports the district planned to fund.

Staff said they had not yet hired for some positions tied to the 21st Century program and therefore would not be terminating current district employees for that reason; rather, the program itself would not run if federal funding were not provided.

Next steps

The board did not vote to redirect funds. Members asked administration to continue seeking written guidance from ADE and the relevant federal specialists, and to report back with recommendations. Miss Moen said she had emailed specialists and would follow up by phone if she did not receive timely written responses. Miss Samaniego said she would notify the board as soon as she had definitive guidance and that administration would not implement any grant reassignments without director approval and board direction.

The board scheduled continuing oversight: administration will update the board in regular meetings and escalate if written guidance recommends a different approach.