Item 14 - Partner with PUSD to Facilitate Distance LearningOctober 6, 2020, Item #14M EM ORAN DLJ M City of Poway DATE: TO: FROM: October 6, 2020 Members of the City Council Steve Vaus, Mayor SUBJECT: Partner with Poway Unified School District to Facilitate Distance Learning Summary: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have been closed for in-person instruction and most schools throughout California are using a virtual learning model. Poway Unified School District (PUSD) began the year with distance learning. Internet access is critical to distance learning as school learning is being conducted via Zoom, Google classroom, and other on line programs. However, many low-income households in Poway do not have internet access which severely limits their ability to learn in a distance-learning environment. These children and their families are facing enough challenges due to the pandemic. Let's do what we can to lessen the struggle of distance learning. This is Poway. Whenever we face a challenge, we take care of one another. Based on data from PUSD there are 200 City of Poway families who do not have internet access to participate in distance learning. The funding is to provide 200 low-income families with portable hot-spots and one year of dedicated internet access to facilitate distance learning would cost approximately $48,000. This is a unique and important opportunity for the City of Poway to partner with PUSD to help support distance learning for Poway families in need. The City of Poway was recently allocated an additional $246,266 from round three CARES Act CDBG-CV funds. Under the CDBG regulations for CARES Act, equipment may be purchased when the item constitutes all or part of a public service. Recommended Action: I ask for Councilmembers' concurrence to direct staff to partner with Poway Unified School District and allocate funding under CDBG-CV guidelines to support the provision of internet access, so distance learning leaves no family behind. Attachments: None. Reviewed/ Approved By ' Wenoy Kaserman Assistant City Manager 1 of 1 Reviewed By: Alan Fenstermacher City Attorney Approved By: Ch~ City Manager