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Chandler Unified outlines federal-program spending, ELD gains and funding uncertainty
Summary
District officials summarized federal and state grant allocations—highlighting Title I spending, an ADE audit with no findings and steady English-language-development gains—while warning of federal funding uncertainty and possible administrative shifts.
Chandler Unified School District officials on Tuesday summarized how federal and state grants support programs across the district, saying Title I and English language development (ELD) services account for a large share of federal-program work and student supports.
Dr. Corey Brenner, director of federal programs for Chandler Unified, said the district received about $18.5 million in grant funding this school year across programs, with roughly half—about $9 million—under the federal programs department’s purview. He said Title I allocations over recent years have ranged “anywhere from 4.2 to $4,500,000” and that about 74.8% of Title I funds go directly to instructional and student supports at federally identified sites.
The presentation stressed program outcomes and compliance. Jamie Williams, a K–12 ELD academic coach, and colleagues described daily targeted ELD instruction for students identified via the home-language survey and AzELLA placement test. Tracy Corbin and Amy Spilde cited rising reclassification rates on spring reassessments, and Brenner said the district’s 2025 Arizona Department of Education (ADE) monitoring visit found the program in compliance with “no findings.”
Officials displayed assessment trends showing growth in multilingual-learner enrollment across Chandler and higher reassessment (reclassification) results for district students than statewide averages. “We were in compliance with no findings, which is huge,” Williams said of the ADE audit.
Brenner explained grant types and mechanics: entitlement (formula) grants pass through the state to local districts, while competitive grants are awarded through application processes. He warned of federal-level staffing reductions and possible administrative shifts that could move programs or oversight between agencies. Citing recent federal discussions, Brenner said some officials have floated moves of key programs to other agencies—“programs that are key to us such as Title I or IDEA would likely move to the Department of Health and Human Services”—but he stressed that the district expects flat funding for 2025–26 and that longer-term impacts into 2026–27 remain unclear.
Board members questioned program evaluation and supports. Member Pete Heap asked whether the district administers assessments in students’ native languages; Brenner said AzELLA is administered annually in English as required by the state and that the district does not use a formal native-language pretest. Board member Paul Morris asked how staff separate language-development needs from broader academic gaps; Brenner said that formative and benchmark assessments, MTSS interventions and multi-year progress reviews help identify students who may need additional supports beyond language instruction.
District leaders described Title I-funded services provided at 11 sites (nine elementary schools and two junior highs), preschool classrooms fully funded by Title I, summer programs for eligible students and instructional staffing such as reading interventionists, math and reading specialists and academic coaches.
Officials concluded by urging board vigilance if federal accountability or funding structures change. Brenner and members flagged the risk that a shift to block grants or a change in federal oversight could reduce federal accountability or change how funds are allocated at the state level.
Looking ahead, Brenner said the department will continue monitoring federal policy developments and that the district is “relieved to have heard that we’re expecting flat funding for the 25–26 school year.”
