City Council uses federal relief money to help stretch fund for graduating Columbus seniors
The Columbus City Council granted a local nonprofit group $5.86 million in federal COVID relief funds last June to provide programs to help city high school seniors get needed credits to graduate, prepare for college or jobs and provide youth employment programs.
But the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio (WDBCO) was able to spend only $1.35 million of that last summer, or 23%, so the City Council voted Monday evening to modify and extend the agreement to give the organization more time. WDBCO will continue to contract with I Know I Can, a nonprofit organization that focuses on college access to Columbus City Schools students, to administer the initiative.
"This ordinance is a continuation," said Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown. "...So an extension of these funds will provide credit-recovery opportunities for juniors and up to 403 seniors in Columbus City Schools who are facing not being able to graduate this year," as well as provide employment opportunities for graduating students.
Brown added that because the program's implementation strategies have been reevaluated to "highlight post-grad preparation, it is clear that this program will see success."
No one from the WDBCO, whose mission is to work with area businesses and organizations on workforce needs, could be reached for comment Monday evening.
The city is using money comes from its $187 million allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that were approved in March 2021 to help pay for the program.
The ordinance suggests that the money could again stretch beyond this year, saying the modifications will "increase the depth and breadth of the college and career readiness services provided to CCS classes of 2022 and 2023 as well as provide college retention support to graduates who, with ongoing pandemic concerns, are at risk for stopping out due to financial constraints, increased anxiety, and decreased motivation."
In other business Monday:
• The council approved another $1.3 million from the city general fund for the continued funding of high-quality, pre-kindergarten programs that help prepare Columbus 4-year-olds for kindergarten.
"Children who participate in high-quality, pre-kindergarten experiences significantly improve their early literacy, language and math skills, entering school ready to learn and more likely to succeed academically as a result," the council said in a release.
The grant renewal cash will be divvied up among 37 preschool operations citywide, their final payment of the school year.
"We make four payments per year to Early Start providers," said Matt Smydo, who heads the city's Office of Education. "One upfront payment – then three reimbursement payments.
"This is because the school year and our fiscal year are not aligned (and) our contracts for a school year are split between city fiscal years."
For the 2021-2022 school year, the council appropriated $4.04 million from the city’s 2021 operating budget to cover the first three payments. The final payment, approved Monday, was funded from the city’s 2022 operating budget.
• The council approved a $898,666 yearly maintenance contract with Helicopter Minit-Men Inc. for the Division of Police’s helicopter fleet, recently reduced to four choppers from five. The extension is the second optional annual renewal of the contract, with the final one next year before it must be rebid.
The Dispatch reported last week that the division had decided to sell a $3.4 million helicopter that it never used about 2½ years after the council approved purchasing it. The aircraft sat largely unused in a hangar on the Hilltop because council had held up funding on equipping it with needed lights, cameras and computers that the division uses to survey crime scenes and track suspects.
bbush@dispatch.com
@ReporterBush
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: City extends help to graduating seniors and those needing credits
