Calhoun City Board Of Education

Calhoun City Schools, a U.S. local government school district based in Calhoun, Georgia, operates as a prime recipient and sub-recipient on federal education and nutrition grants from the Department of Agriculture and Department of Education, with 98 percent of awards flowing to the district as a sub-recipient through the Georgia Department of Education and with two active prime grants anchoring current federal presence. The district does not hold federal contracts; all federal engagement is grant-funded.

Calhoun City Schools serves Gordon County, Georgia—a rural-designated area along I-75 north of Atlanta with a population of approximately 57,963, 24.4 percent under age 18, and 29.6 percent of children below the poverty line. The district's federal grant portfolio centers on K-12 nutrition programs, special education, Title I and Title II teacher quality, career and technical education (Perkins V), English learner services, and homeless youth support. As a prime recipient, the district holds a five-year Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CFDA 93.276) awarded July 1, 2026, for $125,000 per year through June 30, 2031, funding the Gordon Prevention Initiative, a cross-sector coalition formed in 2011 working to reduce youth substance use through community collaboration. The district also held a school-based mental health services project grant from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education running January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2026.

Sub-recipient work dominates the award footprint—297 of 302 awards flow through the Georgia Department of Education, concentrated in the National School Lunch Program (lunch and snack components), National School Breakfast Program, and reimbursement for USDA food warehouse storage and delivery costs. The district also receives sub-awards for Title I-A (disadvantaged students), Title II-A (teacher quality), Title III-A and Title III (English learners and immigrant students), Title IV (student support and academic enrichment), IDEA Part B (special education flowthrough and ages 3-5), Perkins V (career and technical education), Education for Homeless Children and Youth, and IDEA Capacity Building awards. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 233 of 288 classified awards (81 percent of the portfolio); the Department of Education's offices of Elementary and Secondary Education, Career Technical and Adult Education, Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and English Language Acquisition account for 54 awards combined (19 percent). These five offices represent 95 percent of award volume.

Award velocity has declined in the past two years: 73 awards in 2022, 80 in 2023, 35 in 2024, 48 in 2025, and 30 through July 2026. Combined dollars obligated across 302 awards total $41.7 million, reflecting the multi-year and recurring nature of federal education and nutrition grants flowing to local school food authorities and special education programs. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, signaling stable grant continuation into late 2027 and beyond for the district's meal and special education programs.