Superintendent outlines $35,000 violence-reduction grant funding outreach vans and a youth space

Superintendent Maloney reported that Evergreen Public Schools was selected by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for a violence reduction and gang prevention grant. The award was initially $25,000 but rose to $35,000 after another district declined participation, Maloney said.

Under Director of Safety and Security Shane Gardner’s leadership, the district used the funds to purchase dash and portable cameras for Boys & Girls Club outreach vans and portable units for staff transporting youth, providing an extra layer of safety for outreach operations. Maloney said the equipment purchase was coordinated with the Boys & Girls Club, a partner since 2008, and with the district’s youth engagement team. (Superintendent report)

The grant also funded conversion of an unused portable classroom at Evergreen High School into a dedicated youth outreach space for afterschool and summer programming. Maloney described the new outreach space as the district’s “first of its kind in East Vancouver,” located about 200 feet from the site of a 2023 gun-violence incident; she framed the project as “reclaiming areas for community learning and belonging.” (Superintendent report)

Maloney emphasized the work is intended to strengthen youth engagement and prevention efforts rather than serve as an enforcement initiative, and she tied the investment to broader equity and community-stakeholder priorities in the district’s operational expectations.

Next steps: Maloney said there was a short timeline to expend the funds and that staff have been working to operationalize the outreach space and equipment placements. No vote or formal board action regarding the grant award was recorded in open session at this meeting.