Montebello Unified School District

Montebello Unified School District, a California-based public school district, operates as a recipient of federal grants for early childhood education, school safety, and K–12 instructional programs, with the majority of its federal footprint routed through California state agencies as sub-recipient of U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awards.

Montebello Unified is headquartered in Montebello, California, and operates as a U.S. local government entity classified as a school district. The district does not hold prime federal contracts; instead, it functions as a prime recipient on direct federal grants and as a sub-recipient on the vast majority of its federal funding pipeline. Of 52 total awards in the source data spanning 2009 through April 2026, 17 (33%) are prime grants and 35 (67%) are sub-awards channeled through California Department of Education or California Department of Social Services.

The district's primary capability portfolio centers on K–12 instructional services, child nutrition programs, early childhood education, and school safety. On the prime-recipient side, Montebello Unified holds a $3.4 million Early Head Start Project Grant (CFDA 93.600) from the Office of Head Start, effective March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2031, which funds comprehensive early childhood education, family support services, health and nutritional support, and social-emotional development programming for low-income infants, toddlers, and pregnant women in the Montebello service area. The district is also the prime recipient of a $487,657 School Violence Prevention Program grant (CFDA 16.071) from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services Office, effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028, which supports evidence-based school safety programs, coordination with local law enforcement, specialized training, and physical and technology security enhancements including metal detectors and emergency notification systems. A third prime grant, a Head Start award from the Office of Head Start, ran from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2028.

As a sub-recipient, Montebello Unified receives the majority of its federal funding through California state intermediaries. The Department of Education California channels grants to the district supporting school breakfast and lunch services (Child Nutrition Programs), adult education and literacy services, community learning centers and academic enrichment, career and technical education, English language learner support, special education services, teacher quality improvement, and comprehensive school improvement in high-poverty schools. The Department of Social Services California administers Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) sub-awards to the district. Sub-award activity has accelerated markedly: the district received two awards in 2021, one in 2023, nineteen in 2024, thirteen in 2025, and five through April 2026.

Customer concentration is dominated by the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (16 awards), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (9 awards), the Department of Education Office of Career Technical and Adult Education (6 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (5 awards), and the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (3 awards), accounting for 75% of all awards. Only one award carries an ultimate completion date within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in the near term and a stable, recurring sub-recipient funding relationship with California state pass-through agencies. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $261.6 million.