Three Grant High FFA officers will travel to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to urge Congress to renew the federal Secure Rural Schools program, a key funding stream for local classrooms, roads and parish services.

FFA President Emma DeBusk, Vice President Natalie Netherland and Treasurer Connor Smith were selected to represent Grant Parish after weeks of preparation with student advocates from around the country. The group is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson to share how the program affects families in rural Louisiana.

The Secure Rural Schools program helps communities with large tracts of federally owned land that do not generate local property tax revenue. Grant Parish, which officials note includes the largest share of national forest acreage in Louisiana, receives more than $500,000 annually through SRS, split between the Grant Parish School Board and the Police Jury for road work and community projects.

Nationwide, the program touches over 4,000 school districts and more than 700 counties and parishes. Without reauthorization, districts like Grant Parish face looming budget gaps that could affect student services and basic infrastructure.

The trip is framed as both civics lesson and necessity: the students will put a hometown face on a policy debate with direct consequences for their schools and roads. Their message is straightforward, renewing SRS keeps rural communities on stable footing while giving young people the resources they need to learn and lead.