Waconda Unified School District 272

Waconda Unified School District 272, a rural school district in Cawker City, Kansas, operates as a federal grant recipient (48% of awards as prime recipient, 52% as sub-recipient) focused on elementary and secondary education funding and child nutrition programs administered through the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service.

As a U.S. local government entity, Waconda operates exclusively in the grant space with no federal contract prime or subcontract presence. The district's federal grant footprint centers on two primary education-focused programs from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education: the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (formula grant assistance) and the Impact Aid Program under Title VII, Section 7002 (project grant assistance). Representative prime grants include a Small, Rural School Achievement Program formula grant awarded July 1, 2026 with ultimate completion on September 30, 2027, and an Impact Aid Program project grant awarded October 1, 2025 running through September 30, 2031. The district also receives sub-grants from the Kansas State Department of Education for block grants, Title I Low Income support, and Kansas Pre-School Pilot services, and from the Kansas Board of Regents for Perkins Secondary Reserve funding. A single sub-grant from the Kansas Department for Children and Families channels TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds through the education system.

Waconda's customer base is highly concentrated among education and nutrition administrators. The Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 46 awards; the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 33 awards; the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families holds 3 awards; and the Department of Education's Office of Career Technical and Adult Education holds 1 award. Combined, these four agencies represent 100% of recent grant activity. The source does not specify dollar magnitudes by individual award or customer agency. Total obligated value across all 83 awards (prime and sub combined) stands at $3.1 million across the available period, with awards concentrated in 2024 through 2026 (15, 13, and 15 awards respectively) after lower volume in 2022 and 2023.

Recompete pressure is minimal: only one award carries an ultimate completion date within the next twenty-four months. The district's federal footprint reflects its status as a small rural school system accessing competitive formula grants and project grants for which rural and low-income districts qualify, funneled through the Kansas education system's pass-through administration rather than through federal contracts or commercial procurement vehicles.