Vote — approved

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

23.GRANT FUNDING FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO LITERACY Approve application for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ALN 84.215G) in the maximum amount of $4 million over a period of up to 60 months October 1, 2026 - September 30, 2031. The grant’s purpose is to provide funding for programs that expand access to high-quality books, strengthen school library programs, and promote literacy development in hig

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23. GRANT FUNDING FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO LITERACY Approve application for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ALN 84.215G) in the maximum amount of $4 million over a period of up to 60 months October 1, 2026 - September 30, 2031. The grant’s purpose is to provide funding for programs that expand access to high-quality books, strengthen school library programs, and promote literacy development in high-need LEAs with a goal of increasing reading proficiency. There is not a match requirement for this grant. If awarded the full $750,000 for fiscal year 2027, the recoverable indirect cost of administering this grant will be $112,500. 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. §15-302 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. 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-37-26-011-X-00)

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Vote: approved

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26. ACCEPT GRANT FUNDING FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO LITERACY Accept discretionary grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ALN 84.215G) for the Maricopa County School Superintendent (MCSS) in the amount of $5,387,586 over 60 months to be used for the Reader’s Rising Learning Acceleration Partnership (LAP) project. The Board approved MCSS to apply for this grant at the May 6, 2026, meeting (C-37-26-011-X-00), and MCSS was notified on September 8, 2026, that the grant was awarded. The Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant provides funding for programs that promote literacy development in high-need schools with a goal of increasing students’ reading proficiency. The project will serve 17 schools in 4 high-need school districts. Project activities include training teachers, teacher leaders, and support staff so that Grade 1-3 students can access grade-level literacy content during regular classroom instruction. The grant period is October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031, and will fund 6 positions. Indirect Costs for the grant are expected to be a total of $438,176.00 over the 5-year grant timeline and are fully recoverable. There is not a matching requirement nor a requirement to provide future ongoing cash contributions after the grant period ends. 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 $872,057. 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-37-26-011-X-01)

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