Last fall, Escambia Children’s Trust board set a precedent when it denied renewal of three programs that fell short of each organization’s proposed deliverables. The board walked back that precedent on Tuesday, June 11, by approving a scope of work change for Chain Reaction.
Chain Reaction, a teen leadership institute that offers service-learning opportunities, originally received funding to offer its services to 115 students at Pensacola High School. That proved too challenging, though. The program served between 20-30 students this past school year and plans to expand to 40, according to ECT Executive Director Lindsey Cannon.
The motion to change the scope passed with only one dissent from David Peaden, although Lumon May voiced his frustration with the inconsistency in their voting.
“For me, as a board member, it has to be fair,” May said. “I can’t come and say, ‘I made a mistake, so I want a scope change’ at whatever organization. We’ve done that multiple times and then with other organizations, ‘Well, yours was more egregious, so we’re going to pull your contract.’ That’s not fair to me. If I give one person a chance to change their scope, then I should be giving (others) a chance. I voted for it, but I’m very uncomfortable with this.”
The board heard two requests for a change of scope and opted to table the request from Gulf Coast Freedom School. The board originally approved a proposal for Gulf Coast Freedom to partner with the University of West Florida for a summer program. Gulf Coast Freedom changed course, though, after UWF decided to sever the relationship, according to Cannon.
The ECT Program Committee had recommended both scope changes. According to sparse minutes of the meeting, the committee requested Cannon gather more information on Gulf Coast Freedom’s budget line items. No notes were provided to the public that UWF has severed its relationship.
Renewals passed by the board included an ARC Gateway Help Me Grow contract for a second year at $1,314,452. The program promotes early identification of developmental, behavioral and educational challenges in children. The first year for the program focused on children ages 0-3 and costs $1.6 million. ARC Gateway plans to expand its services this coming year to include 0-5.
The board approved $238,875 in matching funds for the Early Learning Coalition’s School Readiness Program. The program offers financial assistance to eligible low-income families for early education and care.
ECT took a step toward addressing health concerns at schools located in areas with a high percentage of low-income families. The board approved an invitation to bid on Healthy School Escambia, an array of proposed services that include onsite pediatric medical services, dental and eye care, nutrition and health education, mental health and onsite afterschool activities.
ECT already identified OJ Semmes and Global Learning Academy for the first year and will serve a minimum of six schools over five years and possibly 10 if the county lets the ECT keep funds intended for the CRA districts.
The draft of the RFP was presented to the Program Committee. According to the minutes, “the committee discussed a couple of edits from staff and Legal.” The Agenda Packet didn’t include the draft or any information on the initiative for the public to review before the June 11 meeting, making it impossible for the public to voice an opinion of the document.
“We know with our bank account we have six schools covered for that five years,” Cannon said. “If the TIF dollars go back for the past three years, it will also be assessed going forward, which will be roughly $550,000 which is a school site. Four-hundred and fifty (thousand) is what we’re looking at per school. … We definitely want a network of these healthy schools in Escambia that is collaborative in nature.”
Escambia Supt. Keith Leonard serves on the board and voiced his approval for the Healthy School Escambia initiative.
“From a school district standpoint, I can tell you we’re very excited,” he said. “We think this is a major investment in those corridors of concern that we went over with this group earlier in the year. This is just the beginning of doing some very positive work in many of our schools.”
To maybe find out more, visit escambiachildrenstrust.org.