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CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: November 6, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Rochelle Clayton, Acting City Manager;
Ed Erjavek, Library Director
Department: Library
Subject: Library Literacy Program Grant Funding (All Wards) Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2024-217, approving:
1. Accepting grant funding of $50,000 from the California Department of Education (CDE) and a “block grant” of $73,200 for Adult and Family Literacy Services from the California State Library’s California Library Literacy Services (CLLS) Program.
2. Authorizing the Interim Director of Finance and Management Services to amend the FY 2024/25 Operating Budget for the Literacy program including adjusting the CDE budget to account for any differences in the estimated grant funding versus the actual grant funding received and appropriating $73,200 of grant funding in both revenues and expenditures for the California Adult and Family Literacy Programs.
Executive Summary
The Library has a Literacy Program in the Jack L. Hill Lifelong Learning Center, at the Feldheym Central Library, that is mostly grant-funded and instructs learners to improve their literacy skills, which helps them improve their educational and employment opportunities. These grant funds do not have any match requirement and as a result, there is not any impact to the General Fund.
Background
The San Bernardino Public Library (SBPL) has a Literacy Department at the Feldheym Central Library, in the Jack L. Hill Lifelong Learning Center, that is mostly grant funded.
The Literacy Department budget, adopted by the Mayor and City Council, is a 2 3
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projection as the actual amounts from the CDE and Adult and Family Literacy Services from CLLS is not known until the fall of each year. The Literacy Program applies for these grants on annual basis. The CDE funding is from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. The Literacy Program is a partner of the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board.
Literacy offers various services to help City residents improve their lives. Besides basic English and English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy services, Jack L. Hill Lifelong Learning Center also offers citizenship history and interview classes, and homework assistance for students in kindergarten through eighth grade for English and math at the Feldheym Central Library.
The Library usually receives these annual grant awards in September and then the Library has to go to the Mayor and City Council to accept and amend the Library’s budget.
Discussion
The respective grant funds are used as follows:
WIOA funding via CDE:
The funding Jack L Hill receives from WIOA helps support staffing in order to offer ESL small group and conversation classes; one-on-one basic English tutoring for adults looking to improve their reading, writing, or English-speaking skills: and citizenship history and interview test preparation.
CLLS:
These grants help support staff funding as well as material supplies for programs and learners. These supplies and staff allow the Jack L Hill Lifelong Learning Center to offer additional tutoring and programs for adults whose first language is English but still need help with improving their reading and writing skills in order to be successful in their careers and daily lives. Funding is also provided to offer programs for learners and their families to teach new skills and ways to interact and support their family members and community.
The funding for CLLS Adult and Family Literacy Services have been received in the past as separate amounts. This year the California State Library is offering funding in “block grant” format allowing Libraries some flexibility in deciding its amounts for each program as long as minimum amounts are met.
While the annual funding amount from the California Department of Education has fallen from roughly half from that received in the fall of 2023 for FY 2023/24 – it’s expected that while 10% of the Literacy Program Coordinator’s salary has been paid from the Library’s General Fund budget – the Library can pay for 50% of the Literacy Program Coordinator’s salary and benefits from its general fund budget for FY 2024/25 to cover that difference. That one-time funding is expected from savings from the Library network replacement costing less than anticipated 2 3
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The Library received its Grant for Award Letter in April for $53,642 of ESL funding for Fiscal Years 2024/25 and 2025/26 so it was adopted as part of the City’s Fiscal Year 2024/25 budget.
2021-2025 Strategic Targets and Goals
The acceptance and administration of this funding aligns with Key Target No. 1:
Financial Stability and Key Target No. 3: Improved Quality of Life, with customer service.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund in FY 2024/25 with the acceptance of this grant as there are no fund match requirements.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2024-217, approving:
1. Accepting grant funding of $50,000 from the California Department of Education (CDE) and a “block grant” of $73,200 for Adult and Family Literacy Services from the California State Library’s California Library Literacy Services (CLLS) Program.
2. Authorizing the Interim Director of Finance and Management Services to amend the FY 2024/25 Operating Budget for the Literacy program including adjusting the CDE budget to account for any differences in the estimated grant funding versus the actual grant funding received and appropriating $73,200 of grant funding in both revenues and expenditures for the California Adult and Family Literacy Programs.
Attachments
Attachment 1 - Resolution 2024-217
Attachment 2 - California Department of Education Grant Award Letter Attachment 3 - CLLS Adult Literacy and Family Literacy Grant Award Letter Ward:
All Wards
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
June 26, 2024 Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopted Resolution No. 2024-142 approving the City of San Bernardino’s Fiscal Years 2024/25 and 2025/26 Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan including $53,642 of funding for Fiscal Years 2024/25 and 2025/26 for English as a Second 2 3
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Language from the California State Library for Literacy Program services.
May 1, 2024 Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopted Resolution No. 2024092, authorizing the Director of Finance and Management Services to amend and appropriate $29,786 in grant funding from the California Department of Education in both revenues and expenditures to the Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 Operating Budget for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act program. This was one-time supplemental funding.
October 4, 2023 Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California adopted Resolution No. 2023-148 approving grant funding in the amounts of $99,287 from the California Department of Education; $60,719 for Adult Literacy Services, $20,615 for Family Literacy Services and $43,642 for English as a Second Language from the California State Library for Literacy Program services.
August 16, 2023 Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, approved the following: A technical correction of the grant funding that was accepted on November 2, 2022 (Resolution No. 2022- 231). Increasing the Library Department authorized staffing by two full-time positions one Assistant Literacy Program Coordinator and one Library Assistant for FY 2023/24.
November 2, 2022 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-231 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California: 1.
Accepting grant funding in the amounts of $141,840 from the California Department of Education; $67,465 for Adult Literacy Services, $22,906 for Family Literacy Services and $53,642 for English as a Second Language from the California State Library for Literacy Program services. 2. Authorizing the Agency Director of Administrative Services to amend the FY 2022/23 Adopted Budget for the Literacy Program including appropriating $53,642 in both revenues and expenditures for the new English as a Second Language Program and adjusting the Grant Fund budget to account for differences in estimated grant funding and actual grant funds received.
March 2, 2022 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution 2022-45 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California authorizing the acceptance of grant funding in the amount of $87,752 from the California State Library's California Library Literacy Services (CLLS) and authorizing the Director of Finance to amend the FY 2021/22 adopted budget for revenue and
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expenditures to appropriate the funding.
Dec. 1, 2021 Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, accepted the Fiscal Year 2021/22 First Quarter Report and adopted Resolution No. 2021-289, authorizing an amendment to the FY 2021/22 General Fund Operating Budget in the amount of
$414,500, which included authorizing acceptance of grant funding in the amount of $128,828 from the California Department of Education.