It did not take the USD 428 Board of Education long to determine it was in the best interest of the Great Bend school district to apply to become Title I district wide.

While the majority of education funding comes from local and state government, districts like Great Bend can receive hundreds of thousands of dollars through federal aid like Title I. The program provides supplemental support to students in high-poverty schools.

Tricia Reiser, USD 428 Director of Teacher and Learning, says the district already meets the criteria to become Title I district wide.

Tricia Reiser Audio

Presently, the five elementary schools in Great Bend are Title I buildings, the status change would include the middle school and high school. The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

USD 428 Assistant Superintendent John Popp told the school board that adding the secondary schools to the Title I label would not mean additional funds, but it would provide flexibility on how the federal money was spent across the district.

John Popp Audio

Currently, the Title I money can only be spent at the grade school level. One of the parts in the criteria to become Title I is to have over 40 percent of the district’s students in poverty. USD 428 received $810,546 from Title I assistance this year with approximately 70 percent of their students living in the categorized poverty level receiving free or reduced-priced lunches. With no additional federal funds, the Title I money will get divided among all seven buildings instead of just the five elementary buildings.

The school board voted 7-0 to approve the change to Title I district wide.