###

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

###

Rural schools and communities are poised to receive millions in funding after Congress resurrected a program left for dead a few months ago.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, which Congress passed overwhelmingly this week, is headed to President Donald Trump for final approval. It would bring $471 million for schools, roads, fire prevention, public safety and other critical needs. In California, 39 counties would share more than $40 million.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Jaime Green, superintendent of Trinity Alps Unified in Trinity County, which is set to receive almost $4 million from the bill. “A lot of people worked very hard to make this happen. I’ve never been more proud of our country than I am right now.”

Secure Rural Schools was created a century ago to reimburse communities that have large tracts of untaxable federal land. The program had been funded almost continuously until this year, when it apparently fell victim to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s push to eliminate programs it deemed wasteful.

But relentless bipartisan badgering by rural politicians and school officials apparently worked. Green, for example, visited Washington D.C. more than a dozen times to push for the bill. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican who represents much of northeastern California, hounded Speaker Mike Johnson for months until he placed it on the House calendar for a vote. A bipartisan group of more than 80 senators and representatives sent a letter to Johnson last week asking for the bill to be fast-tracked.

Public pressure, spurred in part by CalMatters coverage, also made a difference, Green and others said.

Razor-thin budgets

The money is especially important to rural communities because overall funding is so low to begin with. Rural school districts often operate on razor-thin budgets, with very little extra money to make up for swings in revenue. Trinity County, where 70% of the land is owned by the federal government, was anticipating layoffs, program cuts, deferral of costly repairs and other money-saving measures to make up for the loss of Secure Rural Schools funds.

Counties received their last Secure Rural Schools payment in March. The current bill will reimburse counties for the past nine months and cover the next two years, as well. The first checks will arrive 45 days after Trump signs the bill.

“When the program lapsed, rural schools and counties were cut short of the funding they rely on to provide basic services,” LaMalfa said. “This bill restores that funding and keeps future payments on schedule.”

He added that a long-term solution would be for the government to help rural communities re-establish their timber economy, so programs like Secure Rural Schools aren’t necessary.

Another long-term solution would be to extend Secure Rural Schools from a 3-year bill to a 5- or 10-year bill, said Allan Carver, superintendent of Siskiyou County, which will receive more than $4 million through the bill.

That would allow schools to make more permanent funding decisions — such as hiring classroom aides — and not have to continually lobby for the bill’s passage. A longer-term bill, spanning at least one presidential term, would also avoid some political skirmishes in Washington D.C., he said.

“We’re all celebrating today. This was truly an all-hands-on-deck effort,” Carver said. “But we’d love to see a permanent solution to this, so we’re not right back out there advocating a year from now.”

Other cuts on the horizon

James Gore, a Sonoma County supervisor and former president of the National Association of Counties, agreed that Secure Rural Schools should be exempt from the shifting political winds in Washington. Not only does it have strong bipartisan support, but the money is absolutely necessary for rural schools, he said.

“This is an unequivocal lifeline for kids in rural communities,” he said. “We’ll take the win, but it’s a shame that something so important was used as a negotiating tool.”

The fight is far from over, he added. Rural communities, which are disproportionately low-income compared to their urban and suburban counterparts, are facing federal cuts in Medicaid, food assistance, education and other programs which will have a far greater impact on residents’ day-to-day lives, he said.

“We all know that reform is needed,” Gore said, citing social services cuts in the Republican spending bill also called the One Big Beautiful Bill. “There’s going to be so many more fights in the next few years. Secure Rural Schools is only the first of 10 or more.”