Gilroy eligible to apply for more than $100,000 in grant
money
Gilroy – The Gilroy school district has a chance to beef up its after school program offerings courtesy of a $550 million grant passed down by the state department of education.
After school programs are in place at five of the Gilroy Unified School District’s 11 primary sites, including Eliot, Las Animas, Glen View and El Roble elementary and South Valley Middle schools.
But if administrators at the remaining four elementary and two middle schools decide to apply for the After School Education and Safety grants, programs may soon be available at every local site.
The programs are not offered at the high school level.
“Our hope is that we’ll apply for all of them,” said Karen Spaulding, 21st Century after-school program director.
The annual grant for the existing after school programs was set to expire this school year but the state has agreed to grandfather all of them, giving them sustainability for at least an extra three years, Spaulding said.
The application deadline for the new grants is Nov. 6 and since the state has predicted a speedy turn-around, Spaulding expects to receive an answer by late November. The programs will likely be up and running by January.
Since the after school program began five years ago, the district employee said she’s had inquiries from parents at nearly every school site where the program isn’t offered.
Annual grants of up to $112,500 will be awarded to eligible elementary schools and $150,000 to middle schools for three years.
All of the schools’ programs are impacted with an enrollment of between 100 and 130 students, when the maximum is 80. At Eliot and Glen View elementary schools there’s even a waiting list.
Spaulding is looking into the federal funds provided through the 21st Century grant monies to see if there’s cash available to hire more staffers for the impacted programs.
A total of $428 million of the cash set aside for the ACES was provided by Proposition 49, the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sponsored initiative passed in 2002.
The remaining $122 million, that brings the total to $550 million, is derived from other state funding.
After school programs allow students the alternative of spending out-of the-classroom hours in safe and educational environment. Programs may include computer training, arts and fitness.
To qualify, school districts must provide tutoring in one or more subjects during the after school program.
