The East Grand Forks Public Schools district is applying for a more than $2 million grant to roll out new after-school activities and summer school programs.
The state of Minnesota would disburse the federal funds through the "21st Century Community Learning Center" program, according to Suraya Driscoll, director of teaching and learning for East Grand Forks Public Schools.
With the funds in hand, the district would be able to roll out a host of new programs, including 4-H activities, STEM-related projects and family literacy efforts, Driscoll said. The grant program emphasizes collaboration and partnerships, so the school district would work with several other state agencies to introduce new programming. That would include the University of Minnesota and Northland Community Technical College, according to Driscoll.
"All in all we have 13 partners involved in this," she said.
A big chunk of the grant funds would go toward hiring staff for the activities and programs.
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East Grand Forks has been trying to get 4-H activities up and running for a number of years, she noted.
"This would give us a platform and a foundation to do that," Driscoll said.
The district is partnering with two other Minnesota school districts - Crookston and Fertile-Beltrami - to apply for the grant funding, which would be distributed between each district.
Driscoll expects to hear whether the district obtained the grant by the middle of next month. In the past, the program has been particularly competitive, she noted.
"We're super excited," Driscoll told board members. "We'll just keep our fingers crossed."
Later on in the meeting, the board authorized Director of Buildings and Grounds Ron Heskin to draft a $14,800 contract to build a new press box on the east side of East Grand Forks Senior High School's football field. The district plans to contract with Sayko General Contracting on the project, according to Heskin.
The district aims to have the new press box built by June 1, Heskin said.
