Belton mayor pledges to match scholarships awarded to two local students

A city staff member announced at a Belton meeting that two local students were selected for college scholarships by the Southland Regional Mayors Black Caucus and that the mayor has pledged to personally match those scholarships. The staff member said the mayor’s membership in the regional caucus made the city eligible to nominate students for the awards.

The announcement identified the recipients as Jacqueline Mallory and Jaya White, both described as residents of Belton. “Miss Jacqueline Mallory, this recognition of outstanding academic excellence and being awarded a college scholarship from the Southland Regional Mayors Black Caucus,” the staff member said while presenting the first recognition. The staff member made a similar presentation for White.

The staff member emphasized that the Southland Regional Mayors Black Caucus selected the winners, not the city. “I the village didn't pick the winners. The Southland Regional Mayors Black Caucus picked them,” the staff member said, adding that a qualifying requirement for the scholarship program is that the city’s mayor be a member of the caucus.

During the recognition, the staff member relayed a verbal pledge from the mayor: “Our mayor just told me that he is going to personally match their scholarship.” The amount of the mayor’s match, the total scholarship amounts, and whether a formal municipal appropriation or administrative action will follow were not specified in the meeting record.

Speakers at the presentation invited family members to join the students onstage and offered congratulatory remarks; another meeting participant briefly said, “Congratulations. I love it.” There was no motion, vote, or formal budget action recorded related to the scholarships during the portion of the meeting in which the recognitions were presented.

Because the selection and award decisions were described as coming from the Southland Regional Mayors Black Caucus and the mayor’s commitment was presented verbally through city staff, any transfer of municipal funds or formal matching payments would require separate, documented action by the mayor’s office or the city council before public funds are disbursed.