SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Understandably, Placerville Union School District Superintendent Eric Bonniksen said he cares deeply about the education of his 1,200 students, which is why he’s worried about losing a longtime federal funding source from the Secure Rural Schools Act.

What You Need To Know

  • California rural schools receive around $40 million a year through the Secure Rural Schools Act

  • The century old funding source was created for counties that could not collect taxes from surrounding federal land

  • Last payments went out in March and the U.S. Forest Service has been supplementing funds, but officials say that won't last long

  • It has strong bipartisan support at the federal level in both houses, but the $250 million price tag attached to it is said to be a sticking point as the new federal administration settles in

“It’s significantly concerning for us, and I will say it’s significantly concerning for districts across the state of California,” Bonniksen said. “As you very well know, California itself gets about $40 million in Secure Rural Schools funding. And the more rural areas of the state is where that funding flows.”

The Secure Rural Schools Act, which has helped rural counties with untaxable national forest land since 1908, requires congressional approval yearly.

Although it passed the Senate unanimously last fall with strong bipartisan support, it didn’t get a House hearing and was left out of the March federal budget.

The last payments went out in March, and the U.S. Forest Service, which administers payments, has been subsidizing funds, but officials said that won’t last long.

“We utilize those funds for counseling services,” Bonniksen said. “We utilize the funds to maintain our facilities, make sure that we’re able to maintain them at the highest level.”

Bonniksen is also president of the Small School District Association and said his county, El Dorado, receives around $1.9 million annually.

He said he personally went to D.C. to inform lawmakers how much of a lifeline the funds are.

“We went to every representative’s office in Washington, D.C. and talked with people about this for the state of California,” Bonniksen said. “We went to both of our senators’ offices, for the state of California, and talked with them about how important this funding is.”

California Republican Doug LaMalfa reintroduced the latest version of the bill in February, noting that funding has been a major obstacle to its passage as the new administration settles in.

But with broad bipartisan support and a $250 million price tag, he said this bill should be a non-issue for lawmakers.

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“We’re looking for any vehicle to drop this into that’s moving along and get it passed,” LaMalfa said. “And also we’re to the point there. We’re going to really basically demand a floor vote on the bill. Because I think if you got it to the middle of the floor, then everybody has to make a decision.”

He said he’s also working on increasing the term of the act.

“I want to do a long-term, you know, a 10-year one and just have it not be something you have to worry about every year and fight for every year,” LaMalfa said. “And distract from some other stuff we should be doing, you know. This should be a slam [because of the strong bipartisan support].”

However, the bill can be passed, Bonniksen said he supports, because with funding about to run out, tough decisions will have to be made.

“For us, but then also other districts across the state, we’re going to have to take a look at where we’re going to need to make cuts,” Bonniksen said.

He said this will likely mean teaching positions, which is a sad affair for the level of education that students may miss out on.