The School District of Philadelphia recommends that the Board of Education (i) ratify the entering into and performance of a grant agreement (“Grant Agreement”) by The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, and (ii) authorize The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute and perform an amendment of the Grant Agreement, subject to funding, as follows: 

With: The City of Philadelphia 

Purpose: To hire and retain District employees to provide instructional coaching and support to the City’s PHLPreK providers

Start Date: 7/01/2019

Current End Date: 6/30/2020

Amended End Date:  6/30/2021

Original Grant Amount: Up to $1,500,000 for Fiscal Year 2020

Additional Grant Amount: Up to $1,500,000 for Fiscal Year 2021

Location(s): 

Administrative Offices; PHLPreK locations across the City

Description: The City of Philadelphia requested support from the School District for the City’s PHLPreK programs in the form of instructional coaching and support for PHLPreK providers. The School District hired 11 employees ("Employees") and provided instructional coaches and support for PHLPreK during FY20, but the parties needed to finalize the terms of and execute the Grant Agreement before the City can make the grant payment to the School District, which were delayed.  Simultaneously with seeking ratification, the School District seeks Board authorization to amend the Grant Agreement, as the City desires the District’s continued support through FY21; and the parties may wish to continue the arrangement in future fiscal years subject to mutual agreement.  

Under the Grant Agreement, City funds will cover salary and benefits costs attendant to the District’s hiring and/or retaining the District Employees providing instructional coaching and support to PHLPreK providers, as well as certain related supplies. Under the Grant Agreement, and amendments thereto, unless mutually agreed to otherwise:

• The District has paid and will continue to compensate the Employees funded under the Grant Agreement in amounts that are no less than wages and benefits contained in the City of Philadelphia 21st Century Minimum Wage and Benefits Standard Ordinance, Code Ch. 17-300 (“Ordinance”), with a minimum hourly wage in FY20 of no less than $13.25, and the Employees’ having received and continuing to receive health and sick leave benefits to which they are entitled under the collective bargaining agreements corresponding to the unions of which they are members, which already meet or exceed the benefits described in the Ordinance.

• For mutually agreed upon extensions of the Grant Agreement beyond FY20, the wages and benefits will remain consistent with the above, except that the minimum hourly wage will be no less than $13.75 in FY21, $14.25 in FY22, $15.00 in FY23, and in FY24 the minimum hourly wage will be $15.00 multiplied by the CPI Multiplier after June 30, 2023, but not less than the minimum for the prior fiscal year, using the CPI Multiplier calculated annually by the City’s Director of Finance, unless the parties revisit and renegotiate these amounts. 

• The parties anticipate that if they renew the Grant Agreement for additional years, the amount of City funding in subsequent years will be sufficient to cover the compensation and benefits of the Employees in such years, and/or that the parties will adjust the number of Employees in any additional year to align with the amount of City funding. 

The District’s agreement to the compensation and benefits provisions in the Grant Agreement as set forth above, which are reflective of provisions contained in the Ordinance, is expressly made without waiving and with express preservation of its position that the Ordinance does not apply to the District and that the District is not bound by the Ordinance.

Renewal options: Yes, by mutual agreement 

No. of options:  3, for FY22, FY23, and FY24

Duration of each renewal period: 1 year

Renewal grant amount:  Any renewal grant amounts will be annually adjusted so that City funding will cover the salary and benefits costs for the District to hire and/or retain Employees to provide the instructional coaching and support for PHLPreK providers.  If maximum City funding is insufficient to carry the number of Employees from the prior year(s), the City and School District will agree to reduce the number of Employees to align with the funding if they wish to continue the arrangement.