Say Yes struggling to find long-term funding
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Local leaders are scrambling to find a long-term funding strategy for Say Yes Cleveland, the initiative that provides college scholarships for Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) students.
Catch up quick: In 2019, Cleveland became the nation's fourth city to sign on to the Say Yes initiative.
By the numbers: Say Yes Cleveland has raised nearly $100 million from corporate and philanthropic donors to fund student scholarships for the next two decades, but it has yet to secure permanent funding for the support specialists based in CMSD schools who refer students and families to services.
The intrigue: The program's initial four-year operating budget of $21 million was meant to be paid by Cuyahoga County ($3.6 million), the City of Cleveland ($7.4 million) and the federal government ($10.1 million).
- The county agreed to advance the federal funds, expecting reimbursement.
Yes, but: Per federal guidance, those funds were earmarked to help children in the foster system, and because too few foster children use Say Yes services, only $110,000 of the federal funds were disbursed.
What they're saying: "This is the hard truth: Those who sold Say Yes Cleveland overpromised and under-delivered, and they are now refusing to make the difficult decisions needed to ensure the program's long-term viability," county councilwoman Sunny Simon wrote in an open letter last week.
- "If public and private stakeholders truly believe Say Yes Cleveland is worth saving, it is time for them to also say 'yes' by putting their money where their mouth is, and match the more-than-generous investment made by county taxpayers."
The latest: Simon, who chairs county council's Education, Environment and Sustainability Committee, penned her letter in response to coverage in Cleveland.com, which she said mischaracterized the county's contributions.
- Simon said continuing the program at projected levels for one more year would have cost taxpayers an additional $4.4 million in unreimbursed expenses, dipping into Health and Human Services reserves.
- "The county has more than played its role," she wrote. "To suggest otherwise is pure fiction."
What's next: The city, county and CMSD have kicked in ARPA dollars as a stopgap, but there's still a $1.7 million shortfall, and layoffs of support specialists could come in June.
- Cleveland.com reports that Say Yes is working with the feds on a policy tweak that would allow its foster care dollars to be used for the Say Yes program.