Rural counties and school districts in Washington state are bracing for a challenging school year as they face the loss of millions of dollars due to the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools program.
This vital program, which provided crucial funding to offset declining revenue from logging on federal lands, lapsed at the end of 2023 when Congress failed to renew it.
Local officials and lawmakers from both parties are putting pressure on U.S. House leadership to move forward with a bill aimed at renewing the program.
The Secure Rural Schools program has a significant history, contributing $7 billion in payments to over 700 counties and 4,400 school districts across 40 states since its inception in 2000.
Families in affected regions, such as those in southwest Washington represented by U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, are already feeling the financial strain.
“Families are already really feeling the pinch, and to just not know … where things are going to land, it’s very frustrating for me,” she expressed.
Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat, has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill alongside representatives from California, Colorado, and Oregon, but it has stalled in a subcommittee since February 23.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a companion bill on June 18, yet that legislation has also been held up in the House since June 23 without a hearing.
Historically, counties have received logging revenue from the federal government dating back to 1906.
The federal law mandates that counties receive 25% of the seven-year average revenue generated by their forests annually.
However, the Secure Rural Schools program was essential in supplementing these payments with U.S. Treasury funds due to declining timber revenue.
As the program is not automatically renewed, Congress’s failure to reauthorize it has significant implications.
When the Secure Rural Schools program lapsed, all counties reverted to receiving only the mandated timber revenue payments.
This change caused a major drop in available funds for many counties across the nation.
The difference in funding between timber revenue payments and Secure Rural Schools payments is substantial.
All but 73 counties opted for the Secure Rural Schools payments before the program expired, as these payments were much higher.
With the expiration of the program, counties defaulted to receiving only timber revenue payments in 2024.
Payments for 2024, which were issued in March, reflected a decrease, with several counties in Washington losing at least $1 million compared to previous years.
Skamania County, represented by Gluesenkamp Perez, faced one of the most severe reductions, with a stark $2.3 million gap in funding between 2023 and 2024.
As a result of this funding loss, the Stevenson-Carson School District, the largest in the county, has laid off over 20 staff members and closed one of its middle schools.
“We will have a very different year as they return in August. Gone are many staff members who made a difference in their lives,” said Ingrid L. Colvard, the superintendent of the Stevenson-Carson School District.
“Many of the resources that supported their achievement and wellbeing have been cut or greatly reduced.”
Lewis County, which is also part of Gluesenkamp Perez’s constituency, has similarly experienced a drastic reduction in funding.
Last year, the county received approximately $1.8 million in Secure Rural Schools funding, which included $700,000 allocated for maintaining 1,200 miles of rural roads.
This year, however, the county only received $276,153 to distribute between the county government and all local school districts.
Local officials have voiced concerns that this decrease will lead to delayed and canceled road repairs and maintenance, further affecting the community’s infrastructure.
“Rural counties like ours don’t ask for special treatment. We just ask for fairness — and for the tools to do the jobs of serving our communities.
That’s why the Secure Rural Schools program is so important to Lewis County, and why Congress must act swiftly to reauthorize and fully fund it,” wrote Lewis County Commissioners Scott Brummer, Lindsey Pollock, and Sean Swope in a letter to House leadership on July 16.
Gluesenkamp Perez has taken action by sending three letters to House Speaker Mike Johnson urging him to advance the bill.
As of late last week, no responses have been received to her most recent letter sent on July 23.
The congresswoman remains determined, stating that she and her colleagues will pursue “any avenue, any vehicle we can find to move forward with this.”
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