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Grants shrink: finance director warns of multi-million-dollar drop and outlines carryover and budgeting plans
Summary
The district—grants manager reported a projected roughly $10 million reduction in grant allocations compared with recent years as federal ARP/ESSER funding winds down; staff said they moved some programming into ESSER carryover and will prioritize Title I/II, tutoring and CTE while planning conservatively into FY26.
Clementina Carlow, grants manager, told the board recent years saw an "inflation" of federal funds (ESSER/ARP) that are now receding; she said the district faces a projected roughly $10 million decrease in grant allocations for the coming year. Major impacts included a sharp cut to the expected CSI award (from a proposed ~$800,000 to $159,000) and reduced Title I, Title II and other formula allocations.
Clementina said staff have used carryover strategies and moved some activities into ESSER where allowable to protect positions and essential services. She highlighted a notable increase in J grant (CTE) funding tied to higher program enrollment (from ~$71,000 to $177,000) and said the district will prioritize core interventions: after-school tutoring, summer school, math and ELA coaching, and parent/community events funded from federal grants when eligible.
Board and finance leaders discussed the importance of conservative multi-year budgeting as ESSER sunsets and the need to invest in grant-writing capacity to pursue alternative funds. CFO presented projections showing healthy balances in the near term but flagged FY26 as the clearer test when federal COVID-era funds are exhausted.
Ending: Finance agreed to continue conservative planning, return detailed carryover numbers and build grant-seeking capacity.
