Hillsboro, school district report Champions after‑school program supports; city to consider $400,000 consent amendment

Hillsboro officials and Hillsboro SD 1J staff described the Champions after‑school program, the role of federal pandemic-era funds and ongoing city support for scholarships, and said the City Council would consider a $400,000 amendment to continue scholarships.

Why it matters: district and city leaders said the program provides both enrichment activities and supper to students at targeted schools, aims to address food insecurity and extends learning time; funding sources include ARPA and ESSER grants and local city allocations.

Franchesca Sinappi, the district equity, access and engagement officer, described Champions as an enrichment-oriented after‑school partner chosen to provide meals and programming beyond traditional daycare. "They had had that before the pandemic. But what they wanted was the ability for children to receive supper and extend their day by enrichment activities," she said. Sinappi said the district targeted schools with the highest need and used combined funding from ARPA and ESSER to offer scholarships.

Raheem Hajjim, deputy city manager, told the joint session the city has provided about $1,200,000 since 2021 in support of after‑school programming and that the City Council agenda included an item to approve another $400,000 on the consent agenda that evening.

Officials provided enrollment and capacity details: Sinappi said the city-supported program operates at 10 sites under the current grant, with typical site capacity of 40 students and a stretch capacity of 60; she estimated 250–300 students participated this year across scholarship and reduced‑fee tiers and that the program initially had about 220 fully scholarship students in year one. Sinappi said Champions provides meals that for some targeted students may be the third meal of the day.

District leaders also discussed nutrition policy. Superintendent Travis Reimann said the district qualifies for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) so the district provides meals without household application, but he cautioned that the federal landscape is uncertain and the district will continue advocacy to preserve school meal funding.

Ending: officials said they are seeking sustainable funding as ESSER runs out and that the city and district will continue to explore grants and partnerships to maintain scholarships and program capacity.