The Grant School District is in a bind.
The small, rural district in Eastern Oregon is facing a critical financial and operational dilemma due to the unexpected suspension of the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 grant program.
The school district 鈥� which Superintendent Mark Witty said has experienced significant economic hardship and declining enrollment over the years 鈥� was promised more than $682,000 for energy efficiency improvements at Grant Union Jr./Sr. High School. However, recent layoffs at the Department of Energy have .
Officials recently explained that the district has already incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for planning, energy audits and initial construction.
Grant鈥檚 energy efficiency project is like many federal grant programs. Local schools spend the money with the expectation they鈥檒l be reimbursed for the costs by the federal government. Now, school leaders don鈥檛 know if that will happen 鈥� in fact, they鈥檙e pretty sure it won鈥檛.
鈥淣obody said anything. Nobody has reached out to us,鈥� Witty said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any information one way or another. Frankly, my gut instinct is that we鈥檙e not going to get the money.鈥�
In the short term, long-awaited improvements may be abandoned partway through, saddling the district with long-term financial liabilities. Witty said they鈥檝e already issued a stop order on $150,000 worth of work. The federal grant represents the first two phases and about 19% of the total cost of the $3.4 million HVAC project.
The outdated facilities may pose health and safety risks, district leaders said, and the financial strain will add to pressures the district is already feeling. More broadly, leaders are worried about 鈥渁n erosion of public trust and accelerated enrollment declines.鈥�
鈥淥ur county has taken essentially hit after hit after hit after hit from an economic standpoint,鈥� Witty told OPB. 鈥淎t some level, we鈥檙e a bit shell-shocked.鈥�
Layoffs and cuts are hitting public schools across the state and country. Oregon鈥檚 rural districts are, in some ways, uniquely challenged by a limited tax base, declining enrollment and an .
is one of seven school districts in the Oregon consortium sharing the federal energy grant. Schools selected across the country were set to receive about $190 million total to decrease energy costs, improve indoor air quality and foster healthier learning environments.
The federal government has a number of funding streams to support education services, from school meals and special education to helping unhoused and low-income students.
Now, educators are worried all of it is in jeopardy.
Grant鈥檚 memo states that 鈥渞ecent moves by the current administration have created a crisis of confidence among local governments.鈥� School leaders want immediate action and clarification, and they want the federal government to honor its financial commitments.
This isn鈥檛 a case of Oregon liberals decrying a president they didn鈥檛 elect. The school district is part of Grant County, which voted 鈥� nearly 79% 鈥� for Donald Trump.
鈥淭he clock is ticking,鈥� district leaders wrote. 鈥淓very day of delay puts our district at greater financial risk and denies our students the safe, efficient and modern learning environment they need. We cannot afford to let political promises derail a project critical to our schools and community鈥檚 future.鈥�
Decades-old school buildings
In 1998, Grant School District had more than 1,100 students, Witty recalled. That was the year he became the high school principal.
Nearly three decades later, it has fewer than 500.
Witty attributed the steep decline to changes in the region鈥檚 natural resource economy, among other policy changes leading people to move away or start families elsewhere.
Oregon schools are mainly funded by the state , without money specifically for building repairs. Unless voters approve a local bond, those fixes generally have to come out of the annual general , which for Grant SD is around $10.5 million.
鈥淟ong story short, it鈥檚 hard for us to do a $3.4 million project,鈥� Witty said, 鈥渁nd so we try to glue (together) everything feasible that we can think of.鈥�
The Grant district started saving for these construction projects about 10 years ago. They used federal COVID recovery , district savings and the federal energy grant.
Witty said many of the district鈥檚 school buildings haven鈥檛 been updated since the 1950s or 60s. One was built in the early 1930s. They鈥檝e replaced the boilers there before, but it still runs on the original distribution system, meaning they can feed heat into it but can鈥檛 direct it.
They鈥檝e never had air conditioning in most classrooms, he said. They still use single-pane windows. Just replacing the window panes is expected to cost up to $800,000.
All of these outdated systems mean that every year, the district spends more money on maintenance and utilities, yet the schools still aren鈥檛 what they want.
鈥淓nvironmental conditions do impact education,鈥� Witty said. 鈥淚f you look, will say that.鈥�
Witty said they will never get the same energy efficiency as a newer building, but 鈥渢hat doesn鈥檛 mean we shouldn鈥檛 do everything we can to improve it.鈥�
Calls for clarity and action amid political tension
Chris Cronin and Emily Smith are watching similar problems play out across Eastern Oregon.
Cronin has lived in John Day for over 40 years and is on the board for the Grant County Education Service District, which is separate from the Grant School District school board. In addition, Cronin is the current president of the Oregon School Boards Association鈥檚 Board of Directors.
Smith is on the Helix School District Board 鈥� representing a small district outside Pendleton. She鈥檚 also on OSBA鈥檚 Board of Directors and is set to follow Cronin as president.
The two education leaders attended recent town halls for , R-Ontario. The events drew for the 鈥渇iery鈥� pushback.
In last month, Bentz said the Trump administration may be pushing the envelope with its approach, but it鈥檒l be up to the courts to determine whether the moves are Constitutional.
鈥淚鈥檒l just say that I support trying to get spending under control, and I鈥檓 happy to see the administration trying to do something about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really, really hard.鈥�
Cronin and Smith hoped to ask Bentz during the town halls about how Congress will handle federally funded, mandated education programs, including , which serves schools in higher-poverty areas, and , or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
There were enough people in attendance that audience members had to draw raffle tickets to get a chance to speak; neither Cronin nor Smith got their numbers called.
Smith said the 2nd Congressional District that Bentz represents receives the for schools in Oregon. Cuts to Title I funding alone could take hundreds of thousands of dollars 鈥� entire positions鈥� worth 鈥� away from these small districts. The only add to the uncertainty.
鈥淚鈥檓 not really sure anyone knows what鈥檚 going on concretely,鈥� Smith told OPB before the latest wave of federal education cuts was announced. 鈥淚n our town hall, Rep. Bentz said something like, 鈥業 wake up every morning, look at the executive orders that were signed or passed the day and night before, and then we go from there.鈥�
鈥淪o, I mean, I think there鈥檚 just a general sense of uncertainty,鈥� she said, 鈥渨hich creates a lot of unease and anxiety, frankly, for people in schools.鈥�
Cronin said the federal job cuts from other agencies hit hard locally, too. She counts more than two dozen people who were cut from their jobs in Baker City.
鈥淚n a small community, that鈥檚 a very significant economic blow,鈥� she said, 鈥渨hen you have 30 family-wage jobs that are suddenly gone.鈥�
Smith noted that job losses can lead to kids leaving schools, in turn leading to a loss of funding and school services.
鈥淓verything is connected,鈥� she said, 鈥渋n ways people don鈥檛 necessarily realize.鈥�
Cronin was glad to hear Bentz is supportive of this year鈥檚 push for the , which directs money to counties with a lot of federal land.
But Cronin鈥檚 upset that schools are facing these challenges at all, let alone in a time when education improvements are top of mind for people in power locally.
Even with to increase school investments, she said it鈥檚 not enough to offset federal cuts; they simply need both local and federal funds to make ends meet.
鈥淲e have a governor right now who is very supportive of education. We have a healthy budget; we have some advocacy happening for some areas that we really are hoping to see some investment,鈥� Cronin said. 鈥淎nd yet, now we have some great concern at the federal level that public education is on the chopping block, and it鈥檚 a travesty 鈥� a disaster for our country and our state.鈥�
Though Eastern Oregon voted heavily Republican in 2024 鈥� for both Trump and 鈥� Cronin said there鈥檚 鈥渢remendous pushback right now and tremendous concern.鈥� For school board members, there鈥檚 more anxiety.
As they hear about possible cuts to schools and see Forest Service employees and other federal workers in the area lose their jobs, Cronin said it feels like a snowball that keeps picking up speed and size, causing 鈥渕ore and more damage as it continues to roll.鈥�
鈥淎s a school board member, we鈥檙e nonpartisan,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just want to see public education protected because that is honestly one of the foundational elements of a successful, democratic society.鈥�
Without a bond option, Grant looks for other funding
Rural communities in Oregon often take pride in finding solutions for their own problems by working together without too much reliance on leaders in Salem or Washington, DC.
But that鈥檚 a tall order for cash-strapped institutions like the Grant School District.
For starters, much of the area is owned by the federal government, a point stressed in the Secure Rural Schools Act. 鈥淲e鈥檙e primarily owned by the people of the United States, and so we can鈥檛 tax that,鈥� Superintendent Witty said.
The is also ten years closer to retirement age than the statewide average. These folks often don鈥檛 have kids in the district, and they may be living on a fixed income, meaning they have less money available and less self-interest in voting for a bond to fund school improvements.
Witty previously served as superintendent in the neighboring Baker School District. In 2021, Witty helped pass the first bond there in more than 50 years.
鈥淎nd Baker鈥檚 economy is more vibrant than Grant County鈥檚,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 just challenging.鈥�
Witty said Grant School District was hit hard, like many, by the Great Recession in 2008 and hasn鈥檛 bounced back.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not unlike many rural areas in Oregon or the United States where the viability of those economies is being challenged,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody has a really great answer on how we can reinvent ourselves.
鈥淭o a certain extent, this is just one more thing.鈥�
Dozens of people have lost their jobs as , too, or threaten to be. And much like Cronin saw in Baker City, Witty says about two dozen federal workers have lost their jobs in Grant County over the last few months.
鈥淚n an economy of the size of Portland or Beaverton or Lake Oswego, or even Bend or Redmond, you know, that鈥檚 not super significant,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut in an economy our size, that鈥檚 significant.鈥�
In difficult times, rural public schools would often look for support from their local residents. But Witty doesn鈥檛 see that as an option.
District leaders are already planning to 鈥渟lim down鈥� in the coming budget season in the wake of expected to the state employee retirement system, known as PERS. And they鈥檒l, again, have to put a higher percentage of their state school fund into maintenance and capital projects.
鈥淧eople, if they鈥檙e struggling to feed their family,鈥� Witty said, 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to have a hard time passing a bond.鈥�
Surprise funding offers short-term assist
Grant may have a small silver lining 鈥� a safety net that Witty described as 鈥渟erendipitous.鈥�
Last year, the state determined that it had underpaid Grant鈥檚 State School Fund allocation from 2018 to the present.
Grant is expecting about $1.28 million from the state this fall as a result. Assuming they aren鈥檛 getting the federal reimbursement through the Renew America鈥檚 Schools grant, that windfall will allow the district to still finish the project. But that again would mean limiting how much money could go into the classroom to teach children.
鈥淭his is my, what, 38th year in education?鈥� Witty told OPB. 鈥淚鈥檝e never had that happen.鈥�
Oregon鈥檚 budget cycle always has a wait-and-see element as school boards wait for final numbers from the legislature. However, in the past, has been more predictable.
鈥淭hat to us right now is a wild card,鈥� Smith said.
Until they get more clarity, school leaders are trying to plan for the worst and still focus on the day-to-day.
鈥淚 think sometimes there鈥檚 a different narrative, but the reality is, everyone in every school I鈥檝e ever been in or been in contact with is just doing the best they can to make sure every kid is served well and getting what they need to be successful,鈥� Smith said.
鈥淪o, we鈥檙e just gonna keep doing that.鈥�