Pope County Community Unit School District 1

Pope County Community Unit School District 1, a rural Illinois public school district, receives federal education and nutrition grants as a prime recipient from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and as a sub-recipient of pass-through education and child nutrition funds from the Illinois State Board of Education. The district operates as a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Golconda, Illinois, with no federal procurement contract work; all federal funding flows through formula grants and sub-grant awards in K–12 education and meal reimbursement programs.

Pope County's federal footprint is concentrated in three grantor agencies: the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (31 awards, 100% coverage of the award count), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (3 awards), and the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (2 awards). As a prime recipient, the district holds five consecutive annual awards under the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (CFDA not specified in source), issued by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education on July 1 of each year (2022 through 2026), each running through September 30 of the following year. The most recent prime award covers the period July 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Combined dollars obligated across all 36 awards total $2.7 million over the source's historical window.

As a sub-recipient, Pope County receives the majority of its federal funding — 10 of 36 awards — through the Illinois State Board of Education, which flows categorical grants and meal reimbursements down from federal sources. Sub-grant work includes IDEA Part B special education funds for students with disabilities ages three through twenty-one (salaries, training, supplies, materials, equipment); Title I at-Risk funding for instructional staff, professional development, and materials for struggling students; National School Lunch and Breakfast Program reimbursements for meal service; and residential cost reimbursements for students with disabilities. A single award from April 2022 allocated Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III funds under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for pandemic-related school operations. A November 2021 sub-grant supported one-to-one device distribution to decrease the digital divide.

Activity has been flat: two awards in 2022 and 2023, four in 2024 and 2025, and two in 2026. Only one award faces ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months (the 2025–2026 Small, Rural School Achievement Program award completing September 30, 2026), creating minimal recompete exposure in that window. The district does not hold positions on federal contract vehicles, IDIQs, GWACs, or BPAs; all work is grant-based and flows through federal education formula programs or Illinois State Board of Education intermediation.