News of both grant approvals came in mid-September. One grant consists of $160,000 paid out every five years from the state, and which will be split between the district and South Coast Children's Services, with Puente de la Costa Sur as an in-kind contributor. Esther Lucas, Prevention Services coordinator in the county's Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Services, said that the district was the only applicant with which the county wanted to collaborate. The school district and its partners are the only community in the county to receive this particular state grant package.
The other grant comes from San Mateo County, and consists of a $50,000 "planning grant," with a potential $220,000 annual payment for the following three years.
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"We definitely have concerns, and as a small school, we see the issue flare up in our schools," said Pescadero High School Principal Amy Wooliever, who spearheaded the grant applications. "My concern has been that there's nothing really between the school administration and some kind of consequence - for students to get assistance if they're having issues with drugs and alcohol."
Wooliever said the district has recently relied, to a large degree, on an after-school program called Project Horizons, which is directed by South Coast Children's Services. The funding for Project Horizons is expiring at the end of this calendar year, however, creating the need for a new program.
The district applied for the state money through the county, which will serve as a subcontractor, funneling the funds to the district. The money originates from the state's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Grant Program. Wooliever and other school and nonprofit officials began meeting and writing the grant application during the last week of the last school year.
At the same time, the county approached them about another opportunity.
"Because we were uncertain, we hadn't heard from the first grant, (we decided) to apply for a planning grant to look at the needs of the community around alcohol and drug issues," Wooliever said. This grant, which again goes to the district, South Coast Children's Services and Puente de la Costa Sur, allows the parties to assess what needs could be met with additional funding. That assessment process will begin in January. "Our goal is to have a draft of the implementation program by October of next year, and that goes to the county and they decide whether they would fund us," said Wooliever.
Margaret Sedillo, who works both for the district and for South Coast Children's Services, said the biggest change in the district's approach with the new state-funded program will be peer education. Under her direction, high school students will form a Youth Advisory Council that will communicate drug and alcohol concerns to school officials; at the same time, students will be trained to serve as resources for their classmates and younger students.
"It's a dynamic way to address their needs through peers," Sedillo said.
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