TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: Jill Bourne
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: May 30, 2023
Approved Date
6/8/23
SUBJECT: ACTIONS RELATED TO THE GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN JOSÉ AND THE SAN JOSÉ PUBLIC LIBRARY
FOUNDATION
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation in the amount not to exceed $2,625,000 for the fiscal administration of the San José Learns funds ($1,000,000), fiscal administration of the SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion funds ($1,000,000), fiscal administration of the San José Aspires, fiscal administration of the Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program ($575,000), and for fundraising activities to support Library programs ($50,000).
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
Approval of the recommendation will allow the San José Public Library Foundation (SJPLF or Foundation) to seek donations and pledges to maintain and enhance Library collections, programs, and services; continue to serve as the fiscal agent for the San José Learns (SJ Learns) and SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion funds; and assume the role of fiscal agent for the Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program.
BACKGROUND
The San José Public Library (SJPL) and the Foundation enter into an agreement on an annual basis by which the Foundation leverages City funding ($50,000 per year) to garner additional funding, at a minimum of $250,000 per year, to support Library programming and initiatives.
The Foundation was established as a grantmaking entity with the professional expertise and skill in administering fundraising activities, enhancing SJPL’s core values towards lifelong learning and access to information, library materials, and digital resources.
In 2015, SJ Learns was launched in partnership with school districts in San José to bolster academic achievement through after-school programs for San José students in kindergarten COUNCIL AGENDA: 6/20/23
FILE: 23-916
ITEM: 2.27
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 30, 2023
Subject: Actions Related to the Grant Agreement Between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation
through third grade. The Mayor’s March Budget Message for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015-2016, as approved by the City Council, allocated one-time funding of $2,000,000 for SJ Learns from the General Fund. In FY 2017-2018, funding of $1,000,000 was allocated to continue and expand after-school programming. In the first two years, SJ Learns funding supported five school districts in the provision of after-school programs.
On April 24, 2018, City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Foundation to serve as the fiscal agent in disbursing FY 2017-2018 SJ Learns funds to school districts and to provide evaluation of program effectiveness; City Council also approved the inclusion of summer programs for SJ Learns grant eligibility. The FY 2018-2019 Adopted Operating Budget allocated one-time funding of $1,250,000 to continue and expand after-school programming ($1,000,000 allocated to continue services and $250,000 allocated to expand the SJ Learns’ partnership with schools to include summer learning programs). The FY 2019-2020 Adopted Operating Budget reflected a one-time increase of $500,000 for summer programming, bringing the total funding available for SJ Learns grants to $1,500,000 for FY 2019-2020. The FY 2020-2021 Adopted Operating Budget included funding of $1,000,000 to continue SJ Learns program activities. The FY 2021-2022 Adopted Operating Budget reflected a one-time increase of $500,000 for summer programming, bringing the total funding available for SJ Learns grants to $1,500,000 for FY 2021-2022. The FY 2022-2023 Adopted Operating Budget reflected a one- time increase of $500,000 for summer programming, bringing the total funding available for SJ Learns grants to $1,500,000 for FY 2022-2023.
In FY 2023-2024, the Foundation will continue to leverage City funding ($50,000) to secure additional funding, at a minimum of $250,000, to support Library programming, serve as the fiscal agent in disbursing the FY 2023-2024 SJ Learns funds to school districts, and serve as the fiscal agent in disbursing the FY 2023-2024 and SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion funds to local education agencies - including public school districts, charter schools, and charter networks/management organizations - as well as tutoring agencies serving San José students.
Additionally, the Foundation currently serves as the fiscal agent for the San José Aspires (SJ Aspires) program. Beginning in FY 2023-2024, the Foundation will serve as fiscal agent overseeing the management of the San José Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program.
ANALYSIS
SJ Learns Funding
SJ Learns was established in 2015. Since then, 39 schools in San José have been able to provide enhanced after-school services to support more than 4,860 TK-3rd grade students who were at- risk of not learning at grade level. In early 2018, the Foundation, with leadership from SJPL, conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for select school districts to provide expanded learning or out-of-school-time programs beginning summer 2018 through summer 2019. Expanded learning or out-of-school-time programs are comprised of learning opportunities structured outside of the school day, including before and after-school, summer, and extended-day programs. This was the first time that a multi-year award was possible; all applicants requested multi-year funding, indicating the need and their desire for consistent funding.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 30, 2023
Subject: Actions Related to the Grant Agreement Between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation
In FY 2022-2023, four local education agencies and the Santa Clara County Office of Education received SJ Learns grant awards to support expanded learning programs across 16 schools, serving 1,085 students during the academic year and 600 students in summer programs. In addition, a top-up funding opportunity ($500,000) was awarded to existing grantees expanding services and enhanced programs to support students this academic year in an effort to accelerate learning for some of the most at-risk students.
The SJ Learns Advisory Committee, which is responsible for vetting proposals and proposing awards, is composed of regional expanded learning experts and professionals, members of local nonprofit organizations supporting expanded learning, and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
Through this agreement, the Foundation will continue to serve as the fiscal agent for SJ Learns funds. In this capacity, the Foundation will continue to manage the disbursement of funds, accounting, record keeping, the grantmaking process for annual grants, and hire an outside party to conduct a program evaluation on a regular basis. The actual cost of services and program administration expenditures will occur at an administrative rate not to exceed 15 percent of the total amount available for program expenditure, based on a total fund of $1,000,000. SJPL will provide management and monitoring of grant contracts, subject matter expertise, direction on the focus of annual grantmaking, and reporting back to the Library and Education Commission, City Council committees, and City Council, as appropriate. SJPL staff will continue to participate in the SJ Learns Advisory Committee and will provide oversight to the grantmaking process.
SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion Program
The disruption of school learning, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, has had lasting impacts on San José students and their families. While all children faced challenges related to academic growth during this time, many students were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, particularly children in neighborhoods that are traditionally lower-resourced, English learners, homeless or foster youth, and youth of racial or ethnic communities experiencing generational socio-economic, health, and criminal justice disparities. Many families are unable to afford or access tutoring services for their students to ensure they are academically successful and remain engaged in school. Thus, too often students with limited resources lack the support to progress academically, resulting in frustration and detachment from school.
To offset the impact of pandemic-related learning loss and uplift children to higher levels of academic success, achievement, and school engagement, the SJ Learns program will implement a two-year expansion, providing high-need K-12 students in San José with an opportunity to
access high-quality tutoring services and accelerate growth towards academic goals.
In FY 2022-2023, SJ Learns Tutoring grants were awarded to three grantees: Alpha Public Schools, Elevate Tutoring, and Santa Clara County Office of Education in partnership with Bay Area Tutoring Association to serve a projected 795 at-risk students in grades 4-12 that are significantly behind academically. The RFP for the FY 2023-2024 funds ($1 million) will be open in late spring 2023 and these funds will be granted out for the new school year in September 2023.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 30, 2023
Subject: Actions Related to the Grant Agreement Between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation
Through this agreement, the Foundation will continue to serve as the fiscal agent for the SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion program. The actual cost of services and program administration expenditures will occur at an administrative rate not to exceed 10 percent of the total amount available for program expenditure, based on a total fund of $1,000,000. SJPL will manage the planning and implementation process for the funding opportunity on behalf of the City. The Foundation will continue to serve as the grant administrator and provide technical assistance through an existing online grant management system, which is currently utilized for SJ Learns and Resilience Corps Initiatives.
San José Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program
On April 4, 2023, the City Council approved the transfer fiscal management of the San José Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program from the California Emerging Technology Fund to the Foundation. Through this agreement, the Foundation will serve as the fiscal agent for the Digital Inclusion Fund Grant Program. The actual cost of services and program administration expenditures will occur at an administrative rate not to exceed 15 percent of the total amount available for program expenditure, based on a total annual allocation for grants and grant-related activities of $500,000. SJPL will leverage expertise in digital literacy and empowerment to support grantees and maximize the City's integrated efforts in digital equity, workforce and economic development, and Children and Youth Master Planning. The Foundation will serve as the grant administrator and provide technical assistance through an existing online grant management system, which is currently utilized for SJ Learns, SJ Learns Tutoring Expansion, and Resilience Corps Initiatives.
SJ Aspires
In early 2018, the SJ Aspires program was established with a long-term goal to create a clear pathway to college and career success regardless of a learner’s age or educational background.
The SJ Aspires scholarship program is for high school-aged students. The Library promotes post- secondary readiness by creating and managing a scholarship program. The fourth year of the program concluded in FY 2021-2022 with over 1,200 registered users and over $545,000 claimed in financial awards. To date, SJ Aspires has distributed over $689,000 in financial awards to students in the program. Demographically, SJ Aspires students, primarily from Overfelt High School and San José High School, split about evenly between those who identified as male or female (53% and 46% respectively); students predominately identified as Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish Origin (52%), or Asian or Southeast Asian (15%); and 45% of students came from zip code 95122, 32% came from zip code 95116, and 13% came from zip code 95112. Of the SJ Aspires graduates from the pilot cohort, 36 students have reported attending a four year college or university and 38 have reported attending a community college. All gender, race and ethnicity, as well as postsecondary plans were self-reported by students; not all students answered each question and students could enter multiple races or ethnicities. Currently, in FY 2022-2023, 1638 students are enrolled in SJ Aspires from local schools and nonprofit partners Through this agreement, the Foundation will continue to serve as the fiscal agent for the SJ Aspires funds. In that capacity, the Foundation will manage the disbursement of scholarships, accounting, and record keeping. SJPL will work closely with partner organizations to support management and monitoring of scholarship database, contracts, and reporting back to the Library and Education Commission, City Council Committees, and City Council, as appropriate.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 30, 2023
Subject: Actions Related to the Grant Agreement Between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation
San José Public Library Foundation Fundraising
The Foundation will leverage the proposed $50,000 grant to fundraise a minimum of $250,000 in donations and pledges during FY 2023-2024. In FY 2022-2023, the Foundation exceeded the fundraising requirement, and excluding the SJ Learns and SJ Aspires City funded programs, the Foundation disbursed $860,677 in support of Library programs and services. Of this amount, the Library received a direct disbursement of $447,495 in support of Library programs and services.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
SJPL will report on the ongoing program administration and outcomes of funded programs to the Library and Education Commission, Neighborhood Services and Education Council Committee, and City Council.
COST SUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS
The agreement between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation in the amount not to exceed $2,625,000 with $2,575,000 funded from the General Fund, and $50,000 funded from the Library Parcel Tax Fund (418).
BUDGET REFERENCE
The table below identifies the funds and appropriations proposed to fund the grant agreement recommended as part of this memorandum.
Fund
#
Appn.
# Appn. Name Total Appn.
Amount for
Contract
2023-2024
Proposed*
Operating
Budget Page
Last Budget
Action (Date,
Ord. No.)*
001 2704 San José Learns $1,040,000 $1,000,000 807 N/A
001 222X Child and Youth
Services – Library
$1,200,000 $1,000,000 N/A** N/A
001 204M Digital Inclusion
Program
$756,000 $575,000 812 N/A
418 0722 Library Non-
Personal/Equipment
$2,151,348 $50,000 903 N/A
* The 2023-2024 Proposed Operating Budget is scheduled to be adopted by City Council on June 20, 2023. ** The Child and Youth Services – Library appropriation is established in the amount of $1,200,000 per Manager’s Budget Addendum #60, Recommended Amendments to the 2023-2024 Proposed Operating and Capital Budgets.
MBA 60 has been included in the Mayor’s June Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 30, 2023
Subject: Actions Related to the Grant Agreement Between the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager’s Budget Office.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s Council Agenda website for the June 20, 2023 City Council meeting.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
The Library and Education Commission receives reports on the fundraising efforts and activities of the Foundation on an annual basis. The Foundation’s 2022 report and action was provided to the Commission at the April 19, 2023, meeting.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-003, Agreements/Contracts (New or Amended) resulting in no physical changes to the environment.
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
This item does not include a public subsidy as defined in section 53083 or 53083.1 of the California Government Code or the City’s Open Government Resolution.
/s/
JILL BOURNE
Library Director
For questions, please contact Andrea Maestre, Library Administrative Officer, at [email protected].