DEPARTMENT: Office of City Council
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Emily B. McGinn
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT: City Council Project Funds Allocation
SUMMARY:
This ordinance approves grant allocations through the City Council Project Fund (CCPF) to support the Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Major Scholarship at St. Mary’s University. This scholarship will be awarded to local students majoring in Political Science.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City Council Office began administration of the City Council Project Fund in 2012. City Council approval is required for allocations exceeding $10,000 to an applicant for the same program, activity, events, good or service. This ordinance awards six CCPF allocations in the following amounts from the respective offices:
|
City Council District |
Amount |
|
Mayor |
$ 15,000.00 |
|
3 |
$ 10,000.00 |
|
4 |
$ 5,000.00 |
|
5 |
$ 13,500.00 |
|
6 |
$ 5,500.00 |
|
10 |
$ 1,000.00 |
|
Total |
$ 50,000.00 |
Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Scholarship
With funding through the CCPF and Choco’s family, the Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Major Scholarship will be awarded to Political Science majors at St. Mary’s University. Political Science is one of the largest majors in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at St. Mary’s. Each year, more than 120 students come to St. Mary’s to major in Political Science and pursue their dreams of a career like Choco’s. 35% of St. Mary’s undergraduates will be the first in their family to graduate from college and 40% come from underprivileged families. The St. Mary’s education teaches the enduring importance of social justice, equality, and the common good, preparing students to understand public needs and to propose humane solutions to problems.
The Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Scholarship will be a new addition to the scholarships that help keep the exceptional education at St. Mary's accessible to students from any background. St. Mary's anticipates that, like other scholarships, the Choco Gonzalez Meza Scholarship will support retention and persistence to graduation for students. When students are able to reduce the financial burden of their tuition through scholarships, retention rates increase as high as 85%.
ISSUE:
This ordinance approves six grant allocations to support the Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Scholarship at St. Mary’s University in a total amount of $50,000.00.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council could choose not to approve these allocations.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Funding for these allocations was included in the FY 2021 General Fund Budget for CCPF.
The following City Council Districts contributions will be made to support the Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Scholarship at St. Mary’s University:
|
City Council DistrictAmount |
|
|
Mayor |
$ 15,000.00 |
|
3 |
$ 10,000.00 |
|
4 |
$ 5,000.00 |
|
5 |
$ 13,500.00 |
|
6 |
$ 5,500.00 |
|
10 |
$ 1,000.00 |
|
Total |
$ 50,000.00 |
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this ordinance in support of the Choco Gonzalez Meza Political Science Scholarship.