R-8 District to return Project Hope funding to Community Foundation

Nearly $60,000 in unused Project Hope funds will most likely be returned to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks following a special Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Memorial Administration Building.

Project Hope, which has been funded through grant money since its inception following the tornado, was designed  to provide "intervention strategies, crisis management, counseling, and mentoring services to students directly impacted by the tornado."

According to the documentation, the grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for the 2014-2015 school year was $262,000. Of that amount, $202,203.58 was spent on students who were impacted by the tornado and were eligible for the services. The remaining $59,746.92 will be returned. The terms of the grant did not allow the money to be used for students who were not affected by the tornado or allow it to be carried over for another year.

In the board documentation, Mark Barlass, executive director of student services, writes the following:

Although Project Hope was established to address needs post-tornado, the need for these services existed years prior to the disaster.