Sunnyvale reports oversubscription, tighter controls for recreation scholarship program

The Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Commission on Jan. 12 heard a presentation on the city's Recreation Scholarship Program that serves households at or below 80% of area median income, and learned staff tightened monitoring after scholarship funds were exhausted early in 2024.

The program, administered by the Recreation Division under Council Policy 7.11.b.59, provides eligible Sunnyvale youth up to $500 each to enroll in city recreation classes, camps and swim lessons. Michelle Bridal Ragsdale, recreation services manager, told the commission the program year runs Jan. 1'Dec. 31 and eligibility uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development income limits tied to area median income.

The scholarship program expanded rapidly after a 2023 funding increase. Ragsdale said staff discovered in 2024 that registrations originally expected to use 2023 funds had been charged to 2024, causing the program to run out of funds in March 2024. To avoid repeating that error, she said staff changed tracking and communications for the 2025 cycle and will not use the next fiscal year's allocation to cover shortfalls.

Ragsdale reported these figures and operational changes: the program gives each approved youth up to $500 in account credit; the average award paid per child in 2024 was about $286 and the current early-2025 average is about $313; as of Feb. 10, 2025 the division had disbursed $24,779 compared with $20,950 at the same point in the previous year; staff had declined five 2025 applications for exceeding the income limits; and the current 2025 allocation available for distribution is about $132,000 of an authorized $150,000, after accounting for prior-year encumbrances.

"The way it works is that everyone is given $500 in their account, and they can use that however they wish as long as we have the funds," Ragsdale said. She described a graduated monitoring schedule: weekly tracking while funds are well below the cap, twice-weekly tracking when encumbrances approach $75,000, and daily monitoring once the program nears full allocation.

Commissioners praised outreach but raised questions about program use across ages. Commissioner Geary and others noted that most participation is among elementary-age children; Ragsdale said the department has limited dedicated teen programming and is encouraging leadership and training offerings for older youth, including lifeguard training and a leader-in-training model, to increase teen participation over time. Commissioners also asked for more detailed tracking of the number of requests the city cannot fulfill because of budget limits; Ragsdale said staff maintain an encumbrance list and will provide follow-up numbers.

Ragsdale described outreach methods that helped increase applications: digital and printed flyers, distribution via Peachjar to participating school districts, social media, inclusion in seasonal activity guides, one-on-one customer service outreach to prior participants, and targeted in-person assistance at area schools through the Columbia Neighborhood Center's youth and family resources manager.

The commission did not take formal action on the report. Staff recommended continued monitoring of encumbrances, clearer notice in approval letters that funds are subject to availability, and a pause of heavy marketing when the account nears depletion so approved families already enrolled can use credits before cutoff.