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District reports 279 active McKinney‑Vento students; PACE and community partners provide shelter, supplies and on‑the‑go services
Summary
The district’s PACE program reported 342 students identified under McKinney‑Vento this school year and 279 currently active cases. Staff described transportation supports, basic‑needs kits, vaccination clinics, MassHealth and SNAP assistance and plans for a mobile PACE unit.
Cindy Kudo, who oversees the district’s PACE (family resource) services, told the Parent and Community Outreach Subcommittee that 342 students were identified as McKinney‑Vento during the year and 279 are currently active cases.
Kudo provided a breakdown of living situations: 85 students were doubled up (sharing housing), 33 were living in shelters and 24 were in hotels or motels; she said the district had no students identified as unsheltered at the time of the report. By grade band, Kudo said 71 were high‑school age, 73 were middle‑school age and 90 were elementary‑age students.
Kudo described services PACE provides: transportation to a student’s school of origin when placement in a shelter would otherwise change schools; hygiene and clothing kits; backpacks and school supplies; help applying for MassHealth and SNAP; and ad hoc help such as eyeglasses when insurance does not cover them. The district’s team also maintains a closet of new clothing and nonperishable food kits for families in motels.
Kudo said PACE partners with the city’s homeless‑services agencies and the mayor’s task force to end homelessness and that the district sometimes pays short‑term motel costs while staff work to arrange more stable housing. PACE staff are trained to complete benefits applications and, Kudo said, can often initiate MassHealth enrollment and SNAP applications on behalf of families during intake.
On funding and transportation, Kudo said the district receives partial reimbursement for McKinney‑Vento transportation costs; reimbursements have varied over the years. She reported the most recent reimbursement cycle returned just under $1,400,000 against roughly $1,900,000 in expenditures for the relevant period.
Kudo also described recent and planned outreach: a vaccination clinic that administered more than 1,400 doses since November 2023, partnerships with community preschools, and a donated RV being prepared as a mobile “PACE on the go” unit to bring PACE services into neighborhoods.
Why it matters Active McKinney‑Vento cases affect school stability, transportation costs and in‑school supports. The district’s provision of basic supplies, benefits enrollment assistance and transportation aims to reduce the educational disruption caused by unstable housing.
Ending Committee members praised the PACE work and discussed using the school committee’s voice to press for increased shelter capacity and for fuller state reimbursement of transportation, which staff said is currently a partial reimbursement and a potential unfunded mandate.
