Clear Creek ISD is applying for federal grants during the 2023-24 school year, which could total about $15.4 million in additional funding, according to district documents.

Two-minute impact

Per state law, CCISD officials are required to update the board of trustees on ongoing federal grants that staff is applying for, said Chris Kidwell, CCISD director of state and federal programs, at the board’s Sept. 25 meeting.

In total, the district is looking at 11 grants to help cover a number of student needs, according to district documents.

There was nothing for the board to approve at the meeting as it was meant for just information.

Diving in deeper

The grants the districts are applying for, according to district documents, include:

• Five grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act, many of which are aimed at providing resources to low-income students, immigrant students and English learners, totaling $7.9 million
• Three grants that provide free education to students with disabilities, totaling $6.9 million
• A career and technical education grant totaling $357,370
• A grant aimed at helping homeless children for $115,920
• A grant for after-school programming for $45,000

Each grant comes with its own set of requirements, Kidwell said at the meeting. Those include various financial regulations. However, many of the requirements are those already required by federal and state law.

“It would be a one- or two-semester class on the different requirements for each of these,” Kidwell said.

Quote of note

“As we think about the budgets that we’re operating under from year to year, and thinking about the populations that are identified in the programs that ultimately this directly compliments, I think is not insignificant,” board President Arturo Sanchez said at the meeting. “If we were trying to pull together this funding from our local formula funding, I don’t think we would be in a position to do that nearly as easily.”