Big Pine Unified School District

Big Pine Unified School District, a California public school district based in Bishop, operates as a federal grant recipient (77% prime awards, 23% sub-awards) and does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles. The district receives direct formula grants and project grants from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and sub-awards from the California Department of Education for K–12 education, nutrition services, teacher quality, and pandemic response programs.

The district's federal footprint is concentrated entirely within education funding. The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 46 of 51 awards (covering 98% of the award count), with the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service placing 4 awards and the Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition placing 1 award. The district has obligated $7.7 million across all federal sources in recent years, with no dollar magnitudes specified for individual grants in the source.

Big Pine Unified School District's direct prime grants center on two recurring federal programs: the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (formula grants awarded July 1 in consecutive fiscal years 2022–2026, with ultimate completion dates in September of the following year) and the Impact Aid Program under Title VII, Section 7003 (project grants awarded in February 2023, October 2023, December 2024, and October 2025, with completion dates extending through September 2031). Impact Aid specifically compensates the district for reduced local tax revenue caused by federally connected children and federal property within its service area. The district receives sub-awards from the California Department of Education for child nutrition (National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program), Title I School Improvement (supporting low-performing schools), English Language Acquisition support, and pandemic-response education funding through COVID-19 relief mechanisms. Sub-awards show recent activity through September 2026, with earlier sub-awards dating to pandemic response grants in 2022.

Activity has increased to 8 awards in 2026 (the most recent award arriving September 30, 2026), up from a steady three awards per year in 2023–2025. Only one award carries a completion date within the next twenty-four months, reducing immediate recompete pressure for the district.