Mason School District

Mason School District, doing business as Mason K-12 School, is a U.S. government entity and self-certified small disadvantaged business based in Okemah, Oklahoma that operates as a federal grant recipient, receiving education and nutrition funding from the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. The district does not hold federal contracts as a prime contractor; its federal footprint consists entirely of grant awards and sub-grant pass-throughs from state agencies.

The district's federal funding concentrates heavily in the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), which accounts for 61 of 64 total awards across all federal sources. The primary grant programs are the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (recurring formula grants awarded July of each year), Indian Education Formula Grants to LEAs (also recurring annually each July), and Impact Aid Program under Title VII, Section 7003 (project grants awarded in October or November with multi-year completion windows). Three awards flow through the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for child nutrition program reimbursements. Combined obligations across all sixty-four awards total $4.1 million, reflecting the formula-grant and nutrition-reimbursement character of the work. The district acts as a prime recipient on fifty-nine awards (92%) and as a sub-recipient on five awards (8%), receiving pass-through funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Education for nutrition reimbursement, Title IV, Part A student services, and Title I academic achievement programs.

Activity has remained flat over the past five years — three awards in 2022, three in 2023, five in 2024, five in 2025, and three awarded in 2026 to date — with only two awards facing completion within the next twenty-four months. The district's grant calendar aligns with the federal fiscal year; formula grants award each July with one-year or multi-year completion windows, and project grants (Impact Aid) award in October or November with five- to six-year terms. This recurring, predictable schedule reflects the statutory structure of OESE formula and project grant programs rather than competitive procurement activity. The district's role is that of a small rural LEA (local education agency) accessing federal entitlements and pass-through funding for K-12 operations, special education services for Native American students, and child nutrition programs rather than a vendor competing for federal services contracts.