Poplar School District 9 And 9B

Poplar School District 9 And 9B, doing business as Poplar High School, is a U.S. local government school district serving a predominantly Native American student population in Poplar, Montana, and operates as a federal grant recipient (74% of recent awards) rather than a federal contractor. The district holds direct prime grants from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and receives sub-grant funding through the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

The district's federal funding footprint centers on two Department of Education grant programs. Under the Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies program (CFDA 84.060), Poplar School District has received formula grants totaling approximately $817 thousand across recent years (2022–2026) to address the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, funding academic instruction, cultural programming, teacher professional development, and student support services tailored to preserve cultural heritage while meeting state performance standards. Under the Impact Aid Program (CFDA 84.041), the district has received substantially larger project grants: a $2,267,716 award issued October 1, 2025, running through September 30, 2031, and a $4,534,000 award also issued October 1, 2025, for the same completion date. Both Impact Aid grants fund educational services for federally connected children living on or near Federal property, including Indian lands, or with parents employed on Federal property or on active duty in the uniformed services; Impact Aid compensates the district for local revenue lost when Federal property exemption from local property taxes reduces the tax base. The district qualifies under Section 7003 of the Impact Aid Program, which extends eligibility to districts with at least three percent or 400 federally connected children in average daily attendance.

Poplar School District's customer concentration is extremely narrow: the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 83 of 99 total awards (98% of award volume when the top four agencies are combined), followed by the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (8 awards) and the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (3 awards). As a sub-recipient, the district receives 26 awards from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, channeling federal funds across Title I Part A (CFDA 84.010), Title II (CFDA 84.367), Title IV (CFDA 84.424), IDEA Part B (CFDA 84.027), school nutrition programs (CFDA 10.555), and COVID emergency relief funds (ESSER I, II, and III; CFDA 84.425 and 84.425U). The district places one task order under a USDA Food and Nutrition Service blanket purchase agreement. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $123.8 million since 2006, with recent award activity showing a pattern of two awards in 2026, ten in 2025, seven in 2024, and ten in 2023. Only one award in the source footprint carries an ultimate completion date within the next twenty-four months, indicating limited near-term recompete exposure.