Blackfoot School District 55

Blackfoot School District 55, a public school district in Blackfoot, Idaho, receives federal grant funding as a recipient from the Department of Education and the Economic Development Administration, serving students in the northern portion of the Fort Hall Reservation. The district operates as a prime grant recipient (52% of all awards) and as a sub-recipient of education grants passed through the Idaho State Board of Education (48% of awards), with no federal contract prime or subcontract activity.

The district's capability portfolio centers on K–12 education and workforce development. As a prime recipient, Blackfoot School District 55 holds two recurrent formula and project grants from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Under the Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies program (CFDA 84.060), the district receives annual formula grants—most recently $147,695 awarded July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027—to support culturally responsive instruction, Native language and tribal history programming, and academic support services for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Under the Impact Aid Program, Title VII, Section 7003 (CFDA 84.041), the district received a $1,917,114 project grant awarded October 1, 2025, running through September 30, 2031, to offset local revenue loss from federally connected children on the Fort Hall Reservation and children of federal employees. The district also received a $9,979,320 Economic Development Administration project grant (May 17, 2022) to convert an existing facility into the Blackfoot Technical Education Center, offering vocational training in automotive repair, welding, nursing, and hospitality—sectors aligned with regional economic recovery and tribal enterprise development.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted to the Department of Education. Of 79 total awards (prime and sub combined), the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 56 awards (71% of activity), with secondary activity from the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (9 awards) and the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (7 awards). The district serves eight distinct federal agencies overall. As a sub-recipient, Blackfoot School District 55 receives funding through the Idaho State Board of Education for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, Special Education Grants to States, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, Migrant Education State Grants, Career Technical Education, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), Student Support and Academic Enrichment, Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers, National School Lunch Program, and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds—covering most standard K–12 formula and categorical programs. Recent sub-awards span December 2024 back to August 2022, with frequency concentrated in quarterly or semi-annual tranches as the state board distributes federal allocations.

Activity shows growth through 2024 (nine awards in 2022, twenty in 2024) followed by a sharp drop in 2025 (two awards) and 2026 (one award to date). This reflects the nature of the district's federal funding landscape: most sub-awards are recurring annual or multi-year allocations flowing through the state board on a fixed calendar, so the awards-per-year count captures distribution timing rather than funding churn. Only one award (likely an impact-aid or formula-grant cycle) shows an ultimate completion date within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in the near term and strong continuity in multi-year grant vehicles already in place. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $35.2 million, anchored by the $9,979,320 EDA technical education center grant and the $1,917,114 multi-year impact-aid award.