DATE: June 18, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Library Services, Jayanti Addleman
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods’ (SHPN) One (1) Year Contract and Accept and Appropriate up to $100,000 in Funding Allocated from the CA Department of Social Services $100,000 Subaward for South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods Partners Over Fiscal Year 2025.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to:
Execute the South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods’ (SHPN) one (1) year contract totaling $100,000 for FY 2025; and Accept and appropriate up to $100,000 in funding from SHPN for FY 2025.
SUMMARY
The Promise Neighborhoods Initiative was established under the federal legislative authority of the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) program. Started during the Obama administration, the vision of the initiative is to make it possible for all children, youth, and young adults growing up and being educated in “Promise Neighborhoods” to have access to high quality schools and strong systems of family and community support. This would provide students access to an excellent education and enable them to successfully transition through the educational pipeline—from cradle to career.
In January of 2023, Council was made aware that the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (HPN) consortium a new $30 million (5) five-year grant ($6 Million per year for five (5) calendar years, 2023 through 2027) to expand their decade-long initiative to serve Downtown Hayward and the surrounding communities along the A St. and Mission Blvd. corridors. Hayward’s application received the maximum possible score of 110 and was the only application funded in California. Previous Hayward neighborhoods supported by Promise Neighborhood Funding were Jackson Triangle and South Hayward. The City of Hayward was awarded $1,698,782 of the Downtown Hayward Promise Neighborhood (DHPN) funding over five (5) calendar years (2023-2027). Funding will be used to support staffing and eligible expenses directly related to the HPN programs.
Governor Newsom made a historic investment in California's Promise Neighborhoods, concluding their federal funding in 2022. Up to $3 million was awarded to Hayward Promise Neighborhoods to sustain or expand services in South Hayward. The funding was split across three areas:
Maintaining backbone, reporting, and overhead support.
Sustaining the cradle-to-career infrastructure, including networks, data management, evaluation processes, and professional development.
Sustaining South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (SHPN) partner solutions and initiatives.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Starting July 1, 2023, the SHPN partners that were originally mentioned in the grant proposal had the opportunity to request funding of up to $100,000. This funding is intended to sustain or expand their existing SHPN solutions. Each partner of SHPN was able to submit a budget proposal and outline the scope of work, demonstrating how they plan to spend the $100,000 by June 30, 2025, to continue improving outcomes for students and families. It is important to note that there is no requirement for matching funding for this grant. The proposed budget and scope of work is in line with the priorities listed in the original grant scope of work. These priorities were initially submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as part of the no-cost extension proposal.
By sustaining these efforts, Hayward Promise Neighborhoods will effectively fulfill the reporting obligations to the CA Department of Social Services (CDSS). These requirements align with the goals of the U.S. Department of Education's GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act) and the overarching priorities of the federal Promise Neighborhoods initiative. Annually, in October, SHPN will provide reports to CDSS. A reporting template will be supplied to all recipients of the SHPN grant to facilitate this process.
The City of Hayward’s Library Department has been granted $100,000 to be used towards the purchase of new furniture for the Children’s Area and Meeting Room of Weekes Branch to support the reactivation of the space for South Hayward community members and provide space for diverse resources in response to community and 21st century technological needs. Currently, the City of Hayward lacks funding to revamp Weekes Branch with furnishings to bring the facility up-to-date and create a more welcoming space for the community. The Weekes Branch renovation project will increase community use/access to Library resources and provide a safe space for all. Through these efforts, the Library is planning improvements to the Community Meeting Room, thus providing opportunities for the growth of programming, as well as free public access to hold meetings and special events. This will result in more activities for children and families and welcome more community members back into the Weekes Branch.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, studies show that educational achievement can strongly predict economic growth across U.S. states based on data obtained over the past four (4) decades. Projections from economic growth models in one study demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between economic development and the delivery of quality education. The study states in part that at the national level, the low end of the range equates to a long-term increase of $32 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2095 by simply bringing the lowest-performing students in each state up to “Basic” level as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). At the high end, the U.S. economy could realize as much as $76 trillion if every state brought student performance up to the current performance level of the best state, Minnesota.
The National Promise Neighborhood School Reform Initiative is designed to improve the education and development of students—cradle to career. It operates on the premise that a student’s ability to learn is impacted not only by the schools that they attend but also by several quality-of-life factors. Poverty, housing and food security, safety, health and public health, and other social factors also impact a student’s ability to learn. Consequently, the Hayward Promise Neighborhood collaboration of public and private service organizations works to not only improve the quality of services provided by local child development and educational institutions, but also strives to optimize the health, mental health, and safety of individual students, their families, their neighborhoods, and the greater Hayward community in which these students live.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This consent item supports the following items in Hayward’s current Strategic Roadmap: Enhance Community Safety and Quality of Life, Grow the Economy, and Invest in Infrastructure. The drafted FY 2025 Strategic Roadmap has a new goal specific to DHPN under Grow the Economy.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City of Hayward will receive a total of $100,000 in funding from SHPN over FY 2025. The funding does not require a matching commitment, resulting in no impact to the General Fund.
NEXT STEPS
Upon the Council’s approval, staff will execute the agreement between SHPN and the City of Hayward and appropriate the SHPN funding to purchase furniture for the Children’s Area and Meeting Room at the Weekes Branch Library over the term of the agreement.
Prepared by: Lindsey Vien, Deputy Director of Library Services Recommended by: Jayanti Addleman, Director of Library Services Approved by:
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Dustin Claussen, Interim City Manager
Source: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 21770- http://www.nber.org/papers/w21770