Approve Amendment #1 to the Contract With Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition, Inc., Doing Business As Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County (Student Services & Federal Programs Division)

Under this contract, Early Childhood School Readiness Programs provides the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK) to eligible Hillsborough County families by performing intake and eligibility services for children registering for the program and for child care providers applying to be VPK providers, as well as disbursing monthly payments to VPK providers. The term of this contract is July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008. Amendment #1 provides increased funding for payment of providers through the VPK summer session.

Goal 5 - The District will eliminate the FCAT achievement gap by a minimum of 10 percentage points as reported by No Child Left Behind.

The original contract total of $19,901,911 will be increased by $1,193,044 reflecting a revised total of $21,094,955. All of the VPK funding is a state grant channeled to Hillsborough County Public Schools from the Agency for Workforce Innovations, Office of Early Learning through Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition, Inc., dba Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County. The funding increase is to be used to provide the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program for approximately 440 Hillsborough County four-year-old children during the summer session at the reimbursement rate of $2,710.80 per child.

Each year the financial statements are audited by Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition as prescribed by law. The VPK dollars are state funds granted to the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County by the Agency for Workforce Innovations. The School Readiness Program uses these funds to provide VPK services in Hillsborough County. There is no district-generated revenue used for this purchase.