PASCO COUNTY, Fla (WFLA) – Pasco County School Board has approved nearly $1 million that will focus on helping homeless students stay engaged in school.
The money for this program will come from the federal government and the school district tells 8 On Your Side this is a significant amount of money that will help a significant issue.
Right now, Pasco County Schools has identified 1,354 students as homeless in the district.
“A majority of those are living doubled up, that’s sharing a house due to loss of housing due to economic hardship, could be an eviction, foreclosure, all of the above,” said Barbara Kleinsorge, the supervisor of this specific grant program.
The name of this program is The Homeless You and Children Project and the goal is to increase the identification of homeless students and enhance their engagement in school.
The money from this grant will allow the district to provide a variety of wraparound services for the students like tutoring at shelters, enhanced transportation services, short-term housing and more.
“It’s really providing every resource that is going to remove the barrier to education for students,” added Kleinsorge.
Pasco County Schools has submitted their plan and application for the Florida Department of Education to review. Once it is approved and they receive the allocated funds, those at the school district say they plan to hit the ground running with this program.
