Board approves federal Title grants and reallocates Virginia Literacy Act 'All In' funds to extend literacy supports

Franklin County School Board members approved four federal Title grant applications Thursday and accepted staff recommendations for reallocating unspent Virginia Literacy Act (All In) funds.

Assistant staff explained that Title I funds will continue to support reading and intervention positions, family liaisons and targeted supports at individual schools. Title II funds will continue to support professional learning and teacher licensure work; staff said they are moving $100,000 from Title II to Title I as they did in the prior year. Title III funds (for English learners) were described as a modest allocation (about $15,000) that will fund monitoring software and targeted parent nights. Title IV funds will continue to support well-rounded education, safety and technology needs, including coordinator support at the division's secondary learning center.

Separately, staff presented the All In spending plan for the Virginia Literacy Act three-year grant (total $445,640). After reviewing multi-year expenditures, the committee recommended spending $266,949 of unspent funds to extend the high-school family liaison for one additional year, add two additional division-level literacy specialists for one year, and fund additional literacy training and substitute coverage. The board approved the committee's recommendation.

Staff said the All In funds were initially budgeted across tutoring, materials and chronic-absence supports; because tutoring capacity was more limited than anticipated, the committee recommended reallocating unused tutoring funds to the other categories to maintain the program's overall goals. Board members asked for clarification of how the reallocations address chronic absenteeism and student outcomes; staff said they will provide follow-up data as the programs run through 2026.