Oakes School District 41 Inc.

Oakes School District 41 Inc., a rural public school district based in Oakes, North Dakota, is a recipient of federal education and nutrition grants from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, with the vast majority of its federal footprint (79%) routed through sub-awards from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction rather than direct prime awards.

Oakes School District 41 is a U.S. local government entity — specifically a public school district — with no federal contracts and no participation in contracting vehicles. The district operates almost entirely as a sub-recipient, receiving pass-through funding from the state education agency. Prime grant awards are limited to five annual Small, Rural School Achievement Program formula grants from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, awarded in July of each year through September 2027. The sub-award portfolio, which accounts for 75 of the 95 total awards in the source data, consists of recurring federal nutrition programs and elementary-secondary education grants flowing from the state. The most frequently named sub-awards are National School Lunch Program (NSLP) reimbursements for free, reduced, and paid meals; School Breakfast Program (SBP) allocations; and various Title I and Title V education grants. Additional sub-awards include ESSER III funding (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief), Cybersecurity grants, and specialized education grants such as ESSER III High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) and Choice-Ready initiatives.

Customer concentration is extremely high and geographically narrow. The Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service and the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education account for 99% of the 95 awards combined. Of the 75 sub-awards, all pass through the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, which acts as the single gateway to federal funds. Nutrition program sub-awards (NSLP and SBP variants) dominate the sub-award volume; Title-funded education sub-awards are secondary but recurring. The district holds no contract vehicles and participates in no IDIQs, GWACs, or BPAs.

Activity has grown from one award in 2022 to a peak of 26 awards in 2025, driven almost entirely by monthly nutrition sub-allocations and quarterly education sub-grants routed through the state. Recent awards include the Small, Rural School Achievement Program formula grants (five awards spanning July 2022 through July 2026, with the most recent award dated July 1, 2026, with ultimate completion September 30, 2027). The sub-award stream includes ongoing nutrition support — recurring NSLP Free/Reduced, NSLP Paid, and SBP allocations awarded monthly or quarterly — and education initiatives such as Title I funding, Title II professional development grants, ESSER III summer reading and instructional materials programs, and a Cybersecurity sub-award. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $890 thousand, reflecting the modest scale typical of a rural district. Only one award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete pressure in that window.