Audit & Finance Committee backs $85,000 in CBO grants, urges school‑level partnerships for smaller applicants
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Summary
The committee recommended $50,000 to Vision to Learn and $35,000 to the Community Resource Center and moved the recommendation to the full board; staff said many smaller applicants may be better served through school‑level WSF partnerships.
The Charleston County School District Audit & Finance Committee voted to send a recommendation to the full board to fund two community‑based organizations serving students and families.
Mister Prentice, a CCSD staff member, told the committee the panel reviewed nonprofit applications with a scoring matrix and is recommending $50,000 to Vision to Learn, which provides eyeglasses districtwide, and $35,000 to the Community Resource Center, which offers food, clothing and other basic supports. "The recommendation is for $50,000 to Vision to Learn and $35,000 to the Community Resource Center," Prentice said.
Prentice said the review included representatives from finance and academics and that many smaller requests scored as better fits for school-level partnerships under the district’s Weighted Student Funding (WSF) model. "When we looked at the number of pupils served or the limited nature of service, we believe those were probably better suited to be opportunities where schools could partner," he said.
Committee members asked whether prior service to CCSD affected scoring. Prentice said tenure with the district was a criterion intended to show an organization has proven results at smaller scales before requesting districtwide funding; he also invited the committee to flag any new applicants that might deserve special consideration.
Mister Garrett moved to approve the recommendation and it passed by voice vote; the item will appear on the regular board agenda at the end of the month. No roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the committee transcript.
Background: the district created a centralized application, ranking and reporting process for organizations seeking CCSD funding. Staff said the practice has been to bring audit and finance committee recommendations in March so they can route to the board the same month.
The committee did not approve funding requests for several smaller applicants at this time and directed staff to continue encouraging school‑level partnerships where appropriate. The board will consider the committee recommendation at its next regular meeting.