A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging House leaders to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act and restore lapsed payments to rural counties, according to a news release from Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s office.
The release says LaMalfa, R-Richvale, Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are leading a letter to House leadership pressing for quick passage of Secure Rural Schools reauthorization. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in June and would extend the program through fiscal year 2026 while restoring payments for 2024 and 2025.
Funding for Secure Rural Schools expired at the end of fiscal 2023. Since then, county payments have reverted to a 1908 timber-sharing law that provides far less money to forested communities. According to the letter, counties and school districts in 41 states have seen a 63% funding cut — about $177 million — leading to school closures, delayed road and bridge maintenance and reduced public safety services. More than 700 rural counties are affected.
“SRS keeps schools operating, roads maintained and public safety services funded,” National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase said in the release.
Education leaders also emphasized the need for consistent support. “Rural communities need sustained investment,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said, noting that one in five public school students attends a rural school.
The Secure Rural Schools program, created in 2000, is designed to help counties with large amounts of federally owned, tax-exempt forest land pay for schools, roads and public safety. LaMalfa’s Northern California district includes several counties that rely on the program.
