Polson School District 23

Polson School District 23, a U.S. local government school district located in Polson, Montana, acts as a federal grant recipient delivering K-12 educational services to a significant Native American student population; the district does not hold federal contracts and operates entirely through prime grant awards (85% of recent awards) and sub-award participation (15%).

The district's federal footprint centers on three Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education formula and project grant programs. The Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies program (CFDA 84.060) provides recurring annual formula grants—$139,089 in fiscal 2026, $136,768 in fiscal 2025, and $141,050 in fiscal 2024—funding culturally appropriate instruction, Native language and tribal history programming, and teacher professional development for American Indian and Alaska Native students. The Impact Aid Program, Title VII, Section 7003 (CFDA 84.041), qualifies the district under Section 7003 because at least three percent of its average daily attendance consists of federally connected children living on or connected to federal property (including Indian lands). Impact Aid awards carry multi-year project grant structures—$499,832 awarded October 2025 running through September 2031, alongside related project grants dated October 2025 ($308,144), December 2024, October 2023, and February 2023, each carrying ultimate completion dates extending through 2028–2031. The Small Rural School Achievement Program (formula grant awards July 2025, July 2024, July 2023, and July 2022) rounds out the Department of Education primary portfolio. Outside Education, the district received a $495,133 project grant from the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program (CFDA 16.710) in October 2024 for school safety programs and technology, running through September 2027.

As a sub-recipient, Polson School District 23 participates in federal pass-through awards: the Montana Office of Public Instruction channels School Nutrition Program sub-awards (CFDA 10.555) dated March 2026, May 2025, February 2025, September 2023, and September 2022; and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation pass through sub-awards for teacher certification initiatives dated January 2024, November 2022 (two sub-awards), and November 2022.

Activity has remained steady at five to seven awards annually over the past five years (2022–2025), with two awards recorded in 2026 to date. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $18.6 million across ninety-one total prime and sub awards since 2006. The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 98% of awards by count (71 of eighty-nine tracked awards), with the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program comprising the remainder. Only one award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in the near term.