Freshwater School District

Freshwater School District, doing business as Freshwater Elementary School, is a U.S. local government entity and school district headquartered in Eureka, California, that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. The district does not hold federal contracts; all of its federal funding flows through formula grants and sub-awards from state and federal agencies.

Freshwater Elementary operates almost exclusively under formula grant awards from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which accounts for 21 of 26 total awards across the source data. The district is a prime recipient under the Small, Rural School Achievement Program, a formula grant administered by OSESE, with recurring annual awards dating to at least 2022 — most recently a July 1, 2026 award with ultimate completion on September 30, 2027. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for the remaining four awards, delivered to the district as sub-awards through the Department of Education California. Those sub-awards fund the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program, which provide cash grants and food donations to support nonprofit meal service for school children. The district also receives sub-awards supporting teacher quality and student academic achievement through grants channeled via the California Department of Education.

The district's federal award portfolio is modest in scale. Combined dollars obligated across all 26 awards total $840 thousand, reflecting the formula-grant structure and the district's rural school designation under the Small, Rural School Achievement Program. Activity has accelerated slightly in 2026 — six awards that year against one award each in 2022, 2023, and 2024 — but the trajectory remains consistent with annual formula grant renewals and pass-through meal program funding. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in the near term. The district operates as a prime recipient on 77% of awards and receives sub-award funding on the remaining 23%, primarily for nutrition and academic programs routed through California state channels.