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Union board approves major grants and contracts, including $2.2 million IDEA-B award and Hamilton Building lease
Summary
The Township of Union Board of Education approved several grants and contracts July 30, including the SFY 2025 IDEA-B award (Basic $2,198,377; Preschool $65,158), a $60,000 scholarship donation, a mental-health screening contract (not to exceed $73,340), and a lease for the Hamilton Building to United Academy of Union.
The Township of Union Board of Education on July 30 approved a slate of grants, vendor contracts and facility agreements that school leaders said will expand services for students and stabilize district operations.
The board accepted the SFY 2025 IDEA-B grants — Basic funding of $2,198,377 and Preschool funding of $65,158 — to support special education services for the 2024–25 school year. The board also accepted several smaller grants and donations, including a $60,000 donation from Wells Fargo for the Margaret Fekete Senior Scholarship award and a $67,000 Local Recreation Improvement grant to buy playground flooring and fencing at Washington Elementary School.
Board members voted to accept an RFP response and approve a contract with The Family Center at Montclair LLC to provide mental-health screening and intervention services for students in grades 7–12 from Aug. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024, with a not-to-exceed amount based on tiered pricing up to $73,340. The board also approved a $25,000 Rackspace Foundation grant to buy technology and STEM items and to support the district’s work-based learning program at Union High School, and it approved a $18,000 purchase of Central Reach (SILAS) — a districtwide platform for social-emotional learning — funded through the School Based Mental Health grant.
The board authorized several contracts and service providers for the 2024–25 school year, including therapy and evaluation providers (Children’s Specialized Hospital; Speech and Hearing Associates), community-based employment services (Our House, Inc., not to exceed $200,000), and a multi-year arrangement to make Varsity Tutors available to students (K–12) at no cost to the district beginning Sept. 1, 2024. The board also approved affiliation agreements with Kean University to place school psychology externs for the fall semester as part of the School Based Mental Health Grant.
On an item deferred until after executive session, the board voted to accept Bid No. FY-25-01 and approve a contract with United Academy of Union for the lease of the Hamilton Building facility. The motion passed with recorded ayes and no nays.
Most items were adopted on consent after routine committee discussion; board minutes show the motions were moved and seconded by committee chairs or the superintendent’s designee for each section.
What happens next: District staff will complete required contracting steps, provide documented proof of fund usage as required by grant terms, and begin implementation of the mental-health screening and extern placements in the fall semester.
