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Board approves expansion of community-schools technical-assistance contract after split vote
Summary
The Stockton Unified board approved adding Hazelton Elementary to a vendorprovided technical-assistance contract for community schools reporting despite trustee concerns about duplication and $10,000-per-site fees; the measures passed 4-3 after a contentious discussion.
The Stockton Unified School District board narrowly approved amendments to contracts with the third-party technical-assistance provider S to Grow (sometimes spoken as "Sewn to Grow" in the meeting record) to add Hazelton Elementary School to the community-schools cohort and to continue year-two technical support.
Several trustees pressed staff for details about what S to Grow does and how much the district pays. Trustees were told the vendor provides technical assistance to help schools meet grant reporting requirements tied to the districtled community-schools grants; the fee reported at the meeting is $10,000 per school site for the grant term. "Rupa is receiving $10,000 per school site over [the grant period]," a trustee asked staff during discussion; staff confirmed the vendor fee and said the money is from the community-schools grant funds (bipartisan grant money), not general fund.
Trustees voicing concerns said the services appeared to duplicate work at Family Resource Centers and asked for outcome data. "It looks like a duplication of services," Trustee Kennetha Stevens said, urging staff to provide clearer data on how the technical assistance improves student outcomes. District staff and the superintendent said S to Grow supports mandatory annual reporting and documentation for cohort sites while site principals and district staff implement the on-the-ground programs.
After debate, the board approved adding Hazelton and the associated year-two amendment. The roll-call tally on the motion for the amendment was 4-3, with Vice President Shauna Priest, Clerk Patrick Martin and Trustee Isabelle Perez voting no and Trustees Donaire, Stevens, Silva and President Cologne voting yes.
What the board approved: District staff described the contract as covering technical-assistance services that help principals assemble narrative and documentary evidence required by the community-schools grant application and annual reports. Trustees asked staff to present more detailed outcome data at a future meeting so the board could assess duplication and program impact.
Next steps: District staff said they will continue implementing community-school activities at site level (family centers, food distribution partnerships, PK programming) and will bring more detailed monitoring data and performance indicators to a future board meeting to address trustee questions about duplication and impact.
