Rural schools and roads in California will lose millions of federal funds after recent cuts

From Carolyn JonesCalmness

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For more than a century, Congress has been providing additional funds for the counties with large federal land extensions for financing schools, roads and other basic services. Now this financial savior seems to be dead after the Congress has not included it in the budget approved this month, a victim of the Trump administration measures.

Thehe Safe Law in Rural Schools It would contribute at least $ 33 million to California Counts, which have land owned by the federal government, such as the US Forest Service. The money is intended to compensate for the counties for tax revenue that cannot be collected on federal land.

“This loss is nothing less than a catastrophic,” writes Liam Gogan, President of the Trinity District Board of Supervisory Authorities, in Congress. “This is not only a financing deficit; this is an existential crisis. Our schools will suffer irreversible damage, the emergency reaction will be paralyzed and our economy, which is already fragile, will be forced to overcome the place of recovery.”

The California Counts, from Emperor to the North, use the means of safe rural schools for schools and roads, but also part of the emergency services, fire safety and other needs. Last year, the national amount was $ 253 million, only a small contribution to the overall federal budget, but a source of decisive funding for rural communities with few opportunities for income.

“This is a question that they are not epic; we decided it would be an easy triumph,” says Patricia Ginder, head of the school in Lasen County. “But it was not a priority for the congress. It’s just budget. A stone of the common horizon and it was simply not in its radar.”

In the fall, the Bill “Safe Rural Schools” was unanimously approved in the Senate, but was never heard in the House of Representatives and Was not included in the temporary budget approved in December. Defenders tried again in February, with a new bill that expected to be included in the most budget.

However, the bill is not included and is unlikely to be approved by itself, as Congress seeks to reduce the federal costs of President Donald Trump’s orders to reduce government bureaucracy. Representative Doug Lamalfa, a Republican who complains with the bill, “explores all roads” to achieve his approval, according to his staff. Many of the district districts Lamalfa voted for Trump, but the school authorities said they believed a non -party question.

Defenders also maintain hope, even if they are scarce.

“We will continue to press ourselves, but it was time for the congress to do the right thing for rural schools,” said Tara Thomas, a government manager on the Government of the Association of School Chiefs, a National Professional Defense Group. “This is a small program, but it is a savior for the areas that depend on this funding.”

Dismissal and cuts

The financing of the counties varies depending on the surface they have from the US Forest Service. Uu. Siskiyou County, for example, received $ 4.3 million in 2023. Trinity’s, $ 3.5 million. Los Angeles County, where the Angels National Forest is located, received $ 1.4 million. Counties usually distribute half of the school’s money and the other half of public affairs.

It was not a priority for Congress. This is just a budget trigger, a stone on the common horizon and it was simply not in its radar.

Patricia Ginderson, Chief of Schools in Lasen County

In many school districts, the loss of funding will appoint abbreviations of staff, abbreviations in extracurricular programs, fewer excursions, delays in buildings and other adjustments. As for public works, road repair will take longer and residents will receive less assistance in protecting their homes from forest fires.

In Trinity County, the abbreviations suggest that the county will have less crews to repair its 620 miles of roads, 120 of which are gravel. In the steep and remote mountains west of Mount Shasta, this will affect the residents’ ability to go to work and the school, and the capacity of the emergency equipment to reach many parts of the County 3200 square miles, said Panos Cocas, director of district transport.

Many of the roads are already in poor condition due to storms, landslides, forest fires and erosion, he said. In the densely wooded region, it is not uncommon for fallen trees to block the roads or to drag entire road sections of water.

“People can be stuck, or firefighters and emergency equipment will not be able to pass,” Cocas said. “This can be a very dangerous situation.”

In the counts, which are already devastated by poverty and high unemployment, the redundancies can have the effect of Domino, especially given the other abbreviations of the Trump administration, said the head of the Cisski District, Ed Valenzuela. Discounts of US Forest Service, For example, they will suggest less temporary employees who visit local businesses and less staff to maintain forestry facilities, an important tourist attraction in the summer, he added.

Siskiyou and other rural counties have limited fundraising opportunities elsewhere. Rural schools can rarely approve of bonds, as voters tend to be more conservative on fiscal, retired or low -income issues. Approved bonds do not generate much money as the value of the properties is generally insignificant.

“Not that we have the money saved in another box,” Valenzuela said. “When we talk about making cuts … there is nowhere to cut.”

In Alpine County, where 96% of the land is owned by the state and the federal government and has only 1,100 inhabitants, secure rural schools provide about 20% of the road repair budget and a significant part of the school funding.

“The more the roads are left, the more they become,” said Nicole Williamson, a district administrative officer. “Our roads are no longer in the best conditions. We are always worried about losing safe rural schools, but I was still surprised that it would not be approved.”

The latest payments to safe rural schools in the counts will be in April.

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