03.30.06
ProjectGRAD suffers setbacks
Project GRAD to trim 30 jobs as funds decline
The scholarship program for HISD students struggles to stay afloat
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Dwindling federal and local funding will force Project GRAD Houston to lay off roughly 30 employees in the next two months — cutting the workforce of the nonprofit group that provides college scholarships to low-income students to about half of what it was a year ago, officials said.
Among those to step down will be Executive Director Roy Hughes, whose last day will be March 31. Other staff cuts are coming from the business and the elementary school divisions, officials said.
[snip]
Currently, 142,000 students at 70 HISD schools participate in the Project GRAD program that promises $4,000 scholarships to students who graduate with at least a 2.5 grade-point average. Those schools also use the nonprofit’s discipline, math, reading and parent engagement programs.
But the program has been called into question over the last year by leaders of the Houston Independent School District, who recently made plans to cut $1.9 million of the $3.2 million stipend that they provide Project GRAD this year.
[snip]
