The Escambia Children’s Trust board decided to delay refunding the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agencies the tax dollars incorrectly placed in the Trust’s bank account.
After consulting with their attorney and discussing the issue for 50 minutes, the Trust board voted Tuesday to pay only the incremental value for 2023 ($443,341) and negotiate with the county on an interlocal agreement for amounts owed in 2021 and 2022 ($690,684).
“We were the ones appointed to be good stewards of taxpayer’s money,” board member Stephanie White said. “The taxpayers said we want the Children’s Trust to pay for children’s services.”
- Last fall, the Trust paid Urban Development Center $261,733.16 and canceled the contract when it was revealed the nonprofit had only reached 30 children in their targeted ages of 11-18, falling far short of the 250 children in the Century that UDC had committed to mentor and train for jobs. UDC was one of the highest-rated proposals approved for its Out-of-School initiative.
- The Children’s Theater had its award canceled after being paid $179,124.82 for a program that was supposed to cover the summer plus the fall semester. It pledged to have 200 participants but only had 75.
- The Trust has $23,722,562.42 in its bank accounts.
Last month, the county commissioners unanimously approved a motion for the Children’s Trust to pay over $1.1 million in tax increment revenues that accrued over the past three years and pay about $450,000 annually.
- The commissioners have allocated $400,000 from the Montclair CRA to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to purchase cameras.
The City of Pensacola is in the early stages of creating an interlocal agreement with the Trust and the Escambia County School District.
- The City is owed $1.8 million in Community Redevelopment Agency dollars and about $500,000 annually. However, the mayor still doesn’t have a plan for how he wants the money spent to help Title 1 schools within the city limits.
County Commissioner Lumon May serves on the Children’s Trust board. Although he abstained from the vote, the commissioner supported pursuing an interlocal agreement.
- “I support (the interlocal agreement) because I don’t think there’s any intention by my colleagues, and they can speak for themselves, to not do anything for children,” May said.
HEALTHY SCHOOLS ESCAMBIA INITIATIVE
Earlier in the meeting, the board approved United Way West Florida as the lead for its Healthy Schools Escambia Initiative. Partners include Achieve Escambia, ARC Gateway, Community Health Northwest Florida, Council on Aging, Gulf Coast Kid’s House, Lakeview Center, the University of West Florida and YMCA Northwest Florida.
- “I do feel very comfortable with (the initiative), and one of the main reasons I feel comfortable with it is because it wasn’t just done in a vacuum,” Children’s Trust Executive Director Lindsey Cannon said. “There was a group of 30 people in a room pulling this together over multiple months.”
In its first year, UWWF and its partners will devote resources to two Title I schools: Global Learning Academy and O.J. Semmes Elementary. The estimated cost is $450,000 per school. Over a five-year period, the goal is to add two new schools each year.
“I truly believe it will show success, and that’s a collaborative effort we need, not for us as adults but for the kids we are responsible for,” said Supt. Keith Leonard, who serves on the Children’s Trust board.
UWWF will use the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model as a blueprint for the two schools. The CDC model includes 10 components ranging from physical education and nutrition to health and behavioral health services.
In its application, UWWF stated plans to provide on-site medical, dental and vision care to students, support nutrition education through gardens, outreach and workshops, and establish afterschool programs focused on physical activity and academic support, including tutoring by certified teachers.
For the family component, UWWF and its partners plan to engage families in school-community activities and health education and provide legal assistance, education and intergenerational mentoring.
“It’s a heavy lift, so let’s be real about that,” Cannon said. “Our partners that we bring on are going to need our support and outreach to families to let them know it’s there. We know it’s an over time process, which is why we looked at this as a five-year process, not just in and out.”
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