Lewis County will receive more than $1 million this week in Secure Rural Schools program funding, which helps strengthen schools in rural communities.
Chelan, Okanogan and Yakima counties will each also receive more than $1 million this week. Skamania will receive more than $3 million.
United States Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced on Tuesday that the U.S. Forest Service will provide nearly $18.3 million in Secure Rural School payments to communities in Washington State. Cantwell is the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
According to a press release from the senator’s office, “Previous uncertainty about the Secure Rural Schools program (SRS) made it nearly impossible for impacted local governments to plan their annual budgets. Last year, without SRS funding in place, Forest Service payments to Washington counties totaled just $2.6 million.”
These payments provide critical revenue to more than 775 rural counties and 4,400 schools across 41 states.
“Because of the large amounts of Federal land we have in the west, we are heavily impacted by the Secure Rural Schools,” Cantwell said in a press release. “The Secure Rural Schools program is a lifeline for local governments — helping to strengthen schools in rural communities, to repair damaged roads, and to ensure local police and fire departments have the resources they need. Payments, frankly, need to be a lot more predictable and stable than they have been. Getting this funding to counties across Washington will ensure communities are not left without critical resources while we are creating a permanent funding solution.”
