Washington’s rural counties and school districts are preparing to start the school year without millions of dollars from a program meant to offset reduced revenue from logging on federal lands.

The Secure Rural Schools program expired at the end of 2023 after Congress failed to renew it.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, along with local officials, are pushing U.S. House leadership to bring a bill renewing the program to the floor.

The lapsed program helps pay for roads and schools, providing $7 billion in payments to more than 700 counties and 4,400 school districts across 40 states since it was enacted in 2000.

“Families are already really feeling the pinch, and to just not know … where things are going to land, it’s very frustrating for me,” said U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

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