CALIF. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 3

Congressman Kevin Kiley (CA-03) is calling for swift congressional action to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, which provides essential funding to public schools in rural communities across the United States, including those in California’s Third Congressional District.

The SRS program was created in 2000 to offset revenue losses for counties containing large areas of National Forest land, where timber sales have been dropping. These declines have directly impacted several rural counties in Kiley’s district, where local school budgets are heavily reliant on this federal support.

According to Amber Burke, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District’s (TTUSD) coordinator of district communications, TTUSD receives these SRS funds, which they call “Forest Reserve” funds. The Forest Reserve funds are added to the district’s general budget. Burke said they received $123,000 for the 2024/25 school year and $158,000 for the 2023/24 school year.

The most recent congressional authorization for the SRS program expired in September 2023, leaving a significant funding gap. Without reauthorization, counties in California’s Third District are set to receive just $4.49 million, a sharp drop from the $8.59 million they would receive under a fully funded SRS program, a shortfall of more than $4 million that jeopardizes the quality of education and essential services in rural schools.

This week, Kiley met with Future Farmers of America students who spoke about the cutbacks their program is having to make without SRS funding.

Both the House and Senate have worked in a bipartisan way to pass SRS funding but have yet to get it over the finish line.

~ Congressman Kevin Kiley press release/MR