U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff toured two community facilities in Guadalupe on Tuesday, highlighting more than $250 million in federal funding delivered to California in the latest budget cycle.
Schiff visited the Guadalupe School District’s Early Learning Center where he helped secure more than $1.9 million in federal funding to update the facility and build an outdoor play area.
Principal Mari Garcia said four-year-olds in the district previously attended transitional kindergarten classes in portable buildings at a nearby elementary school. She said the classrooms did not have restrooms inside and enrollment dropped to eight students after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, 91 students are enrolled at the center.
“We're providing our students an early experience that many do not have before coming to the school district,” Garcia said. “And connecting with students is very important to myself, to our team to learn about what are those needs when they enter our school.”
Garcia said the center helps address an early education gap in Guadalupe, where preschool options are limited. Staff provide literacy and speech support to identify developmental needs before children enter kindergarten.
“[Services] can also be occupational therapy that they may need,” Garcia said. “Or maybe catching what pediatricians may have missed in those early assessments, [which] could be mild forms of autism.”
During the tour, Sen. Schiff said early childhood education has become a top priority as federal funding fluctuates in California.
He said communities like Guadalupe face a high demand for early childhood education and child care, often without sufficient local resources to meet those needs.
“We are trying to backfill just a portion of what's been cut by the administration. And we're, you know, fighting these cuts where the president is acting beyond his lawful authority,” Schiff said. “But it's hard.”
Schiff said California’s congressional delegation secured more than $250 million in funding for the 2026 fiscal year, supporting early education, medical centers and other community projects across the state.
Schiff later toured the City of Guadalupe Senior Center, which received $275,000 from the same pool of funding that is supporting early education. That money is intended to support daily meals and internet access for senior citizens.
