YFCE staff gave a detailed overview of the district’s request-for-qualifications (RFQ) process for after-school, family-engagement and professional-development partners and warned that lower federal grant totals will constrain programming.

"The RFQ is a formal process that our office uses to solicit qualifications," said Joseph Lumpkin, who presented the RFQ overview on Jan. 8. Lumpkin described an online RFQ and selection workflow (OpenGov/Bonfire), committee-based scoring that includes community and parent reviewers, service matching to district needs, contract terms and monitoring and a planning cycle that coordinates school calendars, resources and training for contractors.

Lumpkin said the district assesses partner performance through attendance, academic measures, standardized after-school evaluation metrics, surveys and family feedback. The RFQ awards roughly 40 partner agreements covering after-school programming and family-engagement services; staff provide support such as devices and space when necessary for program delivery.

Committee members asked how the district chooses evaluators and how frequently partners are monitored. Lumpkin said the district recruits reviewers with relevant experience, includes parents who have worked with the district and typically conducts quarterly reviews tied to marking periods.

Separately, Finance staff presented the monthly financial report and noted a large reduction in grant funds compared with prior years. "We are down 42%" in grant funding compared with 2023–24, the finance presenter said, and staff warned that reductions in federal funds will make it difficult to sustain some after-school, spring-break and summer programming without alternate funding sources. Chairman Wilcox and Lumpkin both said they expect the district to use Title I and other available funds where possible but that summer programming, in particular, faces shortfalls.

The presentation was informational; the committee asked that the RFQ materials and an example evaluation tool be posted to board documents and suggested the district return with specifics about likely program reductions and mitigation plans.