Delray Beach commissioners review proposed education element amendments, seek clearer budget and data sharing

Delray Beach city staff on March 31 presented proposed amendments to the city—s comprehensive plan education element that would add measurable performance targets for family engagement, early developmental screening and business partners for workforce training.

Janai Bowens, the city—s education and external opportunities manager, said the amendments are meant to align the city—s role "as convenor and partner" with what the school district, nonprofits and funders are doing and to set clear performance measures the city can track. "One of the proposed measures is an increase in letters of commitment from partners to support Delray Beach public schools," Bowens said.

Why it matters: Commissioners and community commenters framed the issue as one of scope and leverage. The city cannot control school curriculum or district hiring, but commissioners said the city can fund and convene programs, coordinate data-sharing and target summer and after-school programs where local intervention appears to produce the biggest gains.

Bowens summarized the local student data and the root causes staff identified during outreach to parents, school leaders and nonprofits: she reported that 89% of Delray Beach public-school students are categorized as economically disadvantaged; Orchard View and Pine Grove elementary schools have high concentrations of English-language learners (Bowens said Orchard View is about 40% ELL and Pine Grove about 52% ELL); students with disabilities represent about 17.5% of the city—s student population; and the city—s postsecondary continuation rate is about 68%.

Bowens also highlighted a citywide pattern the staff calls a "middle school cliff": average reading proficiency of 54.4% in elementary grades falls to about 34% in middle school, and high-school math proficiency was reported at roughly 33%. Bowens said her stakeholder interviews identified barriers such as workforce instability in families, language access gaps, insufficient coordination between early-learning providers and K-12 schools and an absence of a structured middle-school transition plan.

Proposed changes: The draft amendments Bowens presented would: - Add measurable performance measures (for example, letters of commitment from partners and increases in family engagement opportunities). - Add policies to advocate for early developmental screening and early intervention for ages 0— 3. - Add a family engagement objective that includes a language-access plan and city-hosted, partnership-based family engagement events. - Codify coordination and data-sharing with the School District of Palm Beach County, including an annual district reporting performance measure on achievement, attendance, discipline and graduation data. - Move several implementation and study deadlines to 2027 and expand workforce-education policies (e.g., support for city-led career development programs and potential expansion of police department and community service programs into middle schools).

Public comment and nonprofit input: Representatives of the Delray Beach Chamber and the Delray Chamber Education Fund offered funding support and said they stand ready to collaborate on kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading and workforce development. Barbara Stark, president and CEO of Milagro Center, urged the city to increase equitable distribution of city funding to nonprofits, saying Milagro—s programs produce measurable outcomes: "Every one of our third grade students are reading on grade level," Stark said during public comment, and she urged the commission to move from planning to allocating resources.

Commission direction and staff follow-ups: Commissioners expressed support for a narrower set of city priorities tied to measurable action. Specific follow-ups requested during the workshop included: - Staff to provide the commission an updated spreadsheet showing current city allocations to local nonprofits and the fiscal-year 2024-25 funding picture (Bowens said the FY25 sheet exists and she would re-send it). - Staff to bring budget options to the commission—s budget workshop, including potential redirection or expansion of summer- and after-school funding and an evaluation of the 505 Teen Center staffing and hours. - Staff to pursue reengagement with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading or a successor community campaign (Bowens said the national campaign allows cities to set local priorities and can be re-scoped to a "first 10" approach if the commission wishes). - Staff and the commission to pursue a stronger, codified interlocal/data-sharing agreement with the school district and consider an annual joint meeting between the commission and the school board to maintain accountability.

What staff did not propose: Bowens said she deliberately used the word "advocate" rather than committing the city to specific budgeted activities such as grant-writing or direct subsidies until the commission provides direction; she said staff can add language on grant-writing if the commission wants to commit budget resources.

Context and next steps: Several commissioners and commenters urged the city to prioritize summer learning and after-school programs as high-impact, city-controllable interventions. Commissioners asked staff to return with updated budgets and options for consolidating the proposed policies into a narrower, measurable set of commitments that the city can fund and monitor. Bowens said staff will circulate the budget spreadsheet and coordinate next steps with the city manager and parks and recreation director for items tied to facility operations.

Ending: The commission did not take a formal vote at the workshop. Members signaled interest in moving from planning to measurable implementation and requested follow-up materials on nonprofit funding, budget options for after-school and summer programming, and a draft framework for a renewed interlocal/data-sharing arrangement with the Palm Beach County School District.