Matanuska Susitna Borough School District

Matanuska Susitna Borough School District, a U.S. local government entity and school district based in Palmer, Alaska, operates as a federal grant recipient (6% of recent awards as prime recipient) and sub-recipient (94%) in K-12 education and student nutrition programs. The district serves over 19,000 students across 48 schools with significant Native Alaskan enrollment and does not hold federal contracts as a prime contractor or seat on contract vehicles.

The district's federal footprint centers on education and nutrition grants distributed through Alaska state agencies. As a prime grant recipient, the district holds five annual Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies (CFDA 84.060) from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, awarded each July 1 for the fiscal year. Recent prime awards include $573,636 (July 2026, period through June 2027), $571,013 (July 2025), $632,968 (July 2024), and $695,320 (July 2023), each supporting culturally appropriate instruction, academic support services, and professional development for Native Alaskan students. As a sub-recipient, the district receives the bulk of its federal funding through pass-through awards from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, which distributes Department of Agriculture and Department of Education funding for student nutrition and academic support.

Sub-recipient work is heavily concentrated in student nutrition and food service programs. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 127 of 217 total awards (95% coverage of the portfolio by award count), delivered as sub-awards through Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. These include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grants to States, and Local Food for Schools Cooperative awards, recurring monthly or quarterly. The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 59 awards, including sub-awards for Title I Basic Grants to LEAs, Title IIA Improving Teacher Quality, Title III English Language Formula Grants, Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment, Special Education (Title VIB and Preschool), Career and Technical Education, Education for Homeless Children and Youth, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and Comprehensive Literacy State Development. The Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Career Technical and Adult Education, and Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service round out the remaining active customer agencies.

Activity grew sharply from 12 awards in 2022 to 69 in 2024, with 66 awards in 2025 and 36 to date in 2026. Only one award faces completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in that window. The district also serves as a sub-recipient on disaster-related grants: a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program sub-award from Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs ($60,000, December 2025) and a second HMGP sub-award with amendment totaling federal share obligations, and a State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program sub-award ($34,440 total federal obligation, May 2026). A sub-award for refugee student English language acquisition and cultural awareness programming originated from Catholic Social Services Inc. (April 2024), and the district participates in the Alaska Healthcare Workforce Pipeline Project as a sub-recipient under Alaska Primary Care Association (May 2023).