Parker Unified School District 27

Parker Unified School District 27, a U.S. local government entity and school district headquartered in Parker, Arizona, is a federal grant recipient that provides culturally appropriate educational services, teacher professional development, and student support to Native American students through awards from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The district acts as a prime grant recipient on Indian Education and Impact Aid awards and as a sub-recipient on pass-through grants from the Arizona Department of Education under Title I, Title II, Title IV, IDEA, ESSER, and related K-12 education programs.

Parker Unified's federal funding footprint is concentrated in education formula and project grants. The district receives direct prime awards under two major federal grant programs: the Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies (CFDA 84.060), a formula grant supporting culturally appropriate instruction and professional development for Native American students, and the Impact Aid Program Title VII Section 7003 (CFDA 84.041), which replaces local property-tax revenue lost because federally connected property serving military families and students living on Indian lands is exempt from local taxation. The most recent prime awards include a $189,793 Indian Education formula grant (July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027) and a $9.27 million Impact Aid Project Grant (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2031). The district has also received $190,640 in Indian Education formula funding for the 2025–2026 school year and holds active Impact Aid grants running through 2030 and 2031 that anchor the district's revenue stability.

The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education dominates Parker Unified's customer base, funding 57 of the district's 69 total awards (97% coverage) across the past five years and obligating $159.2 million in combined dollars. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has placed 5 awards; the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration account for the remaining awards.

As a sub-recipient, Parker Unified receives pass-through funding from the Arizona Department of Education for school improvement, literacy and math interventions, special education services, teacher micro-credentialing and professional development (including PBIS and Capturing Kids Hearts programs), technology infrastructure (Galileo), and student enrichment activities. Sub-awards active in 2024 and 2025 include Title I grant programs, Title II Improving Teacher Quality grants, Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, IDEA Basic grants, ESSER grants, Rural and Low-Income Schools grants, and career and technical education (CTE) programs. Recent sub-awards document funding for instructional specialist positions, Ruby Payne professional development on response-to-intervention and poverty interventions, LETRS literacy-training courses for new teachers, and online safety programming (iSAFE).

Activity has grown from a single 2022 award to a peak of eleven awards in 2024, with ten awards in 2025 and four in 2026 (through July). Only one award faces completion in the next twenty-four months, indicating limited recompete exposure in the near term. The district's grant portfolio is stable and recurring, anchored by multi-year Impact Aid grants and annual Indian Education formula allocations that reflect the district's high concentration of Native American enrollment and federally connected students.