Topeka Unified District 501

Topeka Unified District 501, doing business as Topeka Public Schools, is a local government school district in Topeka, Kansas that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient in early childhood education and K-12 programs, with substantially larger activity as a sub-recipient of block grants and categorical education funding passed through state agencies.

The district operates as a U.S. local government entity — a public school district rather than a for-profit vendor — and competes for federal funding in full-and-open competition without set-aside designations. Its federal footprint is almost entirely grant-based rather than contract-based; the district does not hold prime federal contracts or IDVs and has no subcontractors on federal procurements. The district's role divides sharply between prime grant recipient (20% of awards, 30 grants) and sub-recipient (80% of awards, 119 sub-awards). The combined potential value across all awards is reported at two thousand dollars, which reflects a data anomaly in the source; the combined dollars obligated amount to $201.3 million, indicating substantial actual federal funding flow.

Prime grant awards include a $5,642,540 Head Start award from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (CFDA 93.600, performance through October 31, 2030) for comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutritional, social, and family support services to low-income children in Topeka. The district also receives recurring Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Education Agencies from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, with awards issued annually on July 1 (most recent awards in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022, each running one fiscal year).

Customer concentration sits heavily with federal education and nutrition programs. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 73 awards across the prime and sub-recipient portfolio, and the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 46 awards. Together these two agencies represent 91% of award count. Sub-recipient awards passed through the Kansas State Department of Education include block grants, Title I Part A basic grants to LEAs, Title II-A teacher quality funding, Title III English learner programs, Title IV-A student support, National School Lunch Program Cash in Lieu payments, child and adult care food program funding, 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants, education for homeless children and youth programs, special education funding, and Perkins secondary career and technical education. Additional sub-awards flow through the Kansas Department for Children and Families (Kansas Pre-School Pilot funding, TANF pass-throughs) and the Kansas Board of Regents (Perkins secondary program improvement). The district also receives sub-awards for Education for Homeless Children and Youth directly and for 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants and Perkins secondary program improvement.

Award activity has grown materially in the past five years, from eight awards in 2022 to a peak of 41 in 2024, with 34 awards in 2025 and 32 year-to-date in 2026. Only one award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete exposure in the near term. The district's federal funding landscape is dominated by recurring, predictable formula and categorical grants administered through state education agencies rather than direct federal procurements, reflecting typical K-12 school district federal revenue streams.