Vote — approved

Thomas Galvin	yes
Steve Gallardo	yes
Kate Brophy McGee	yes
Debbie Lesko	yes
Mark Stewart	yes

Ayes: Thomas Galvin, Kate Brophy McGee, Mark Stewart, Debbie Lesko, Steve Gallardo

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41. GRANT FUNDING FROM U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION TO SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT FOR EDUCATION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH Apply for discretionary grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ALN 84.411A/B/C) in the maximum amount of $10,000,000 over a period of up to 60 months; and authorize the Chairman to sign all documents related to these grant funds, as applicable. The grant’s purpose is to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students; and to rigorously evaluate such innovations. Projects that directly benefit all students, but especially high-need students, through effective literacy instruction, aligned to the science of reading, are strongly encouraged. There is a 10% match, which can be cash or in-kind contributions and will be provided by participating school districts or contractor or absorbed by the Superintendent’s operating budget. If awarded the full $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, the recoverable indirect cost of administering this grant will be $20,200. Future ongoing cash contributions are not required after the grant period. The grant award will help support the Superintendent in meeting the mandate in A.R.S. §15-301 to collaborate with the department of education and other state agencies to assist schools in using student data, staff development, curriculum alignment, and technology to improve student performance. The grant award is competitive. Grant revenues are not local revenues for the purpose of the constitutional expenditure limitation, and therefore, expenditure of the funds is not prohibited by the budget law. Accepting this grant does not alter the budget constraining the expenditure of local revenues duly adopted by the Board pursuant to A.R.S. §42-17105. (C-37-26-007-X-00)

Vote: approved

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54. ACCEPT GRANT FUNDING FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT FOR EDUCATION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH Accept discretionary grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) (ALN 84.411B) for the Maricopa County School Superintendent (MCSS) in the amount of $9,598,442 over 60 months to be used for the Learning Acceleration Partnership (LAP) project. The Board approved MCSS to apply for this grant at the October 1, 2025, meeting (C-37-26-007-X-00), and the USDOE notified MCSS on July 30, 2026, that the grant was awarded. This Education Innovation and Research based project is a high priority of the USDOE in returning education to the states and expanding education choice through high-impact tutoring. LAP is a scalable, school-embedded coaching model designed to accelerate literacy achievement for high-need students by training instructional coaches to deliver just-in-time tutoring and strengthen Tier 1 instruction. The project will serve approximately 9,000 students in grades 4–6, in Title I or high-poverty schools. MCSS will implement LAP in 50 schools across 20 school districts—half designated as rural—with students receiving embedded tutoring. Project activities include coaching training, implementation fidelity monitoring, and school leadership development. The grant period is August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2031, and will fund 11 positions. The grant requires a 10% match, and MCSSO anticipates exceeding the requirement due to in-kind contributions from participating school districts. Fiscal year 2027 grant indirect costs are estimated to be $27,189 and are fully recoverable. Future ongoing cash contributions are not required after the grant period. This has been a recurring federal grant, although this is the first time MCSSO has been awarded the grant. The grant award will help support the Superintendent in meeting the mandate in A.R.S. §15-301 to collaborate with the Department of Education and other state agencies to assist schools in using student data, staff development, curriculum alignment, and technology to improve student performance. Pursuant to A.R.S §42-17106(B), increase the FY 2027 County School Superintendent (D370) School Grants Fund (715) Operating (OPER) revenue and expenditure budget by $1,359,473. Grant revenues are not local revenues for the purpose of the constitutional expenditure limitation, and therefore, expenditure of the funds is not prohibited by the budget law. Accepting this grant does not alter the budget constraining the expenditure of local revenues duly adopted by the Board pursuant to A.R.S. §42-17105. (C-37-27-006-X-00)

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