Distance learning grant

The Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service awarded Pike County Board of Education $268,719 on September 23, 2025, under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants program (CFDA 10.855) to support distance learning delivery to rural residents.

The award funds educational services and distance learning infrastructure in Troy, Alabama, with a period of performance ending September 23, 2027. Pike County Board of Education operates a school district serving Banks, Brundidge, and Goshen, Alabama, and has a track record implementing federal educational programs including Title I, IDEA, Career and Technical Education, and dual enrollment initiatives for rural southeast Alabama students.

The Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants program encourages use of telecommunications, computer networks, and related advanced technologies to deliver educational and medical benefits through distance learning projects to people in rural areas. Eligible applicants must be legally organized as incorporated organizations, partnerships, Indian tribes, state or local units of government, consortia, or other legal entities with legal capacity to contract with RUS, and must not be delinquent on any Federal debt. The standard project period is three years; applications are competitively selected annually based on specified scoring criteria, with awards approved upon determination that the project is economically feasible and serves program purposes.