June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

Board Meeting Minutes
of new funding sources at federal, state, and private sources, and that will continue and will increase.
We implemented an announcement memo process, which means that as we find grants and we announce
them, we have a formal process that is run through the CAO and COO to see that we can identify a grant
manager from the very beginning, and review what partners are interested in each grants, and to make
those determinations from the start. We have procured some subscriptions to print and nonprint
resources that have helped us find new grant sources for us. And we have increased the needs on
functions of grants in the agencies. And this is very important, because we have been able to recover
some grant funding that we thought had been lost. And we have been able to help our submission
process. Particularly, a couple grant agencies are now requiring electronic submissions. So that has been
new for us, and we've been pleased to have done that. Getting down to some numbers. Since October,
we have found 60 proposal opportunities, for a total of $46.3 million. And in our monthly finance
committee meetings, we provide Commissioner Jones and Commissioner Streuver with a full listing, so
they have every single grant that we've found, whether it's submitted or not and whether it's awarded or
not. We can make those reports available to any other Commissioner, if desired. Just let us know. Of the
60 proposals that we have found, we've submitted 37 grants, for 28.2 million. We have another 23
pending review, for 18.1 million. Those figures will fluctuate every month as we submit and as we find
new grants. Now, looking closely, of the 37 grants that we have submitted to date, for 22 million, we
have already won 15 of them, for 19.2 million. We have 21 of them that are still pending notification,
for another 8.4 million of potential awards for the Baltimore City Schools. And we have one grant that's
been denied to date. So the national win ratio for grant submission is about 10 percent, or is expected
that applicants will win one out of ten that are submitted. And you can see by our numbers that we've
already accomplished a good 50 percent, and we have a potential for 90 percent in the ratio.
MR. SMOLARZ: And these grants that you have given us are competitive grants, they're not the
entitlement. So these are the ones where that win/lost ratio is relevant. Any questions?
MR. STREUVER: When we finish after this -- I'm just nervous on this whole underspending of our
restricted grants.
MR. STRINGFIELD: Worse than that.
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MR. STREUVER: It's hard to say. But we've -- the staff has been working with Commissioner Jones
and myself is a very nice way of putting it. And it was great at the end of this last Finance Committee
meeting, and, by tradition, go around to around robbins rabbit of parting thoughts. And our MSD
member on the committee, John Lange, said at least fantastic progress was being made. And the State
has been a long-time critic of the School System's inability to spend restrictive grant money. And so I
think it's really terrific the progress that we've made. We're eager to see the automation of the system so
it's easier to turn out the reports. We're eager to see how we end up at June 30th. But when John Lange
made that comment, I thought it was just -- for a State partner to be saying that was great. The one thing
that surprised me, not just that we're doing such a great job -- I mean, 15 yeses and one no, with yeses at
$19.2 million, is just phenomenal. And I'm just frustrated that, in view of the Bryant Pritchard shot, that
it went vacant in January and still hasn't been replaced. And I'm looking for three -- at that rate, they
might -- you know, I'm a businessman, and, you know, invest money where you get a nice payback. And
I look at the size of our staff and I look at that payback, and I say Holy Schmolly, this is the place where
we ought to be investing more in the kind of talent that we have in our grant staff. And particularly
combined with exciting -- because I think the School System is doing generally -- as we get a reputation
of being one of the fastest improved big city school districts in the country, that more and more people
are going to want to get on the bandwagon, the Carman Russo bandwagon, and help support us, and
something like shooting fish in a barrel maybe and the grants. I'm -- for the next one, I've been waiting
to do a round robin where we can say this is fantastic. We've hired three new Brian Pritchards.
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