Board approves application for $69,000 one‑time Head Start nutrition and health grant

The Davis School Board approved district staff applying for a one‑time Office of Head Start grant focused on nutrition and health after staff outlined planned uses that would support classroom lessons and family outreach.

Mary Ann Henderson, director of Head Start, told the board the Office of Head Start had issued a single‑year funding opportunity limited to nutrition and health. Henderson said the district would request $69,000 to continue a Utah State University nutrition curriculum delivered in classrooms and family events, to replace an aging delivery vehicle used for meal distribution, to buy two high‑grade blenders for teaching demonstrations, to purchase a commercial refrigerator for one facility, and to install garden boxes as part of a broader site revamp.

Henderson also said the program would ask for a one‑time waiver of the non‑federal share normally required on federal grants so that the 20 percent non‑federal contribution would not be passed to parents or to the district. "We are asking for a waiver on that non‑federal share for the $69,000 because we don't want to put that back on to parents or the district," Henderson said.

Superintendent Fidel Montero and board members supported the request. A motion to approve submission of the application was made by board member Sue Stevens and seconded by Miss Mercer; the board voted to approve the Head Start/Early Head Start reports and the application request.

Why it matters: Head Start funds support early‑childhood nutrition and family engagement. The one‑time grant proposed would fund both classroom curriculum and operational items (vehicle replacement and refrigeration) intended to improve food access and hands‑on nutrition instruction.

Vote: Motion to approve submission of the Head Start application passed unanimously (motion by Stevens; second by Mercer).