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District outlines community‑schools grant plan and potential $10M scale, warns of 33% local match
Summary
Director Mariana Torres and teacher‑on‑assignment Nelson Lopez Campos explained AVUSD’s community schools planning and implementation grant work: one application will include eight site plans, the district must submit site plans by Jan. 21 and the application by Feb. 7, and any award requires about a 33% local match (in‑kind contributions allowed).
Director Mariana Torres and Teacher on Assignment Nelson Lopez Campos told the board the district has applied for the state Community Schools planning grant and is preparing one implementation application that will include eight site plans.
Nelson described community schools as a model that integrates academic, health and social services and builds collaborative leadership with families and partners. He said the district began with four sites and expanded to eight after stakeholder work and that site teams have completed needs assessments and artifacts to support the application.
Key deadlines: staff said site plans and artifacts are due Jan. 21 and the district will submit the single implementation grant application to the California Department of Education (CDE) by Feb. 7. The CDE will score applications between February and April and award notifications are expected in June–July.
On funding and match: Nelson and Mariana said the CDE will prioritize grantees based on unduplicated pupil counts and that implementation awards require a local match equal to roughly one‑third (33%). Mariana emphasized that the match can be provided as in‑kind services or existing district resources, not necessarily new cash: “It can be through services or resources of that comparable value,” she said, and staff noted many of the services (family centers, mental‑health referrals, tutoring) already exist in the district and could count toward the match.
Staff estimated a possible total award in the range of $10 million districtwide depending on which of the eight sites are funded and the student populations represented; they cautioned the final award depends on CDE decisions and how many sites receive funding. “They may say 7 of the 8 we’re going to fund, and so they might not come back with the full amount,” a staff member said.
Trustees asked how community schools would differ from services already provided. Staff replied the grant is intended not to supplant existing services but to expand capacity (examples: more family‑center hours, additional therapists, expanded tutoring or mentoring) and to require a sustainability plan because implementation funding is time‑limited.
The board will receive drafts of the application materials and site plans; staff said they will provide specific budget worksheets and program abstracts for trustee review before submission.
No formal action was taken; the presentation was informational and the trustees expressed support for pursuing funding.
