The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District is grappling with delays to various grants previously expected to be delivered in July.
On July 1, the district, along with other district leaders in the state, received notice from the New Hampshire Department of Education that the U.S. Department of Education is currently reviewing the 2025 funding for several grants. The grants include Title I-C, Title II-A, Title IV-A and Title IV-B grant programs, and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for the upcoming academic year, which began July 1.
The U.S. Department of Education notified schools that it will not be issuing grant award notifications until that review is complete.
The funds cover a variety of items, including professional development, English language programming, student support and academic enrichment and migrant education. The U.S. Department of Education did not provide a timeline for when the programs would be reviewed, or when or if schools would be notified of potential application approval.
Districts that were issued grant funds for 2024-2025 must spend or obligate those funds by September 2026. Submissions for the 2025-2026 academic year have not been awarded.
“We recognize that this situation brings uncertainty to budgets and program planning. NHED is actively working with federal partners and internally to support your students and staff. We remain committed to a timely communication as updates emerge,” New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut wrote to district leaders.
Jaffrey-Rindge School Board Chair Lisa Wiley said the district is affected by this delay, as it uses title grant funds for professional development, including leadership academies, literature and math programming, and was planning to apply for funds for after-school programming for Jaffrey.
“Should this end up affecting our fall, this would be pretty catastrophic,” said Wiley.
Superintendent Reuben Duncan said the district is also in the midst of using title funds toward transportation for students who do not have a permanent address, and was intending to apply for funds for a sixth-grade science camp.
He said that the current plans for elementary math and language arts will have to be revisited if this funding is not available.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscrit.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.