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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03. Educational Programming Vendor changeCentral Contra Costa Sanitary District October 7, 2016 TO: ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE VIA: ROGER S. BAILEY, GENERAL MANAGER FROM: EMILY BARNETT, COMMUNICATION SERVICES AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS MANAGER SUBJECT: EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING VENDOR CHANGE Backcjround: 3. Student education programs are vital to the District's annual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit reporting, pollution prevention program, and are included in the Fiscal Year 2016-18 District Strategic Plan - Goal One (Provide Exceptional Customer Service). This goal includes a metric that the District's educational programs serve a minimum 2,200 students within the two years. Since 2002, the District has contracted with The Gardens at Heather Farm (The Gardens) to provide in -classroom teachers for the District's two student education programs, Water Wizards and Sewer Science. During this period of time, The Gardens has overseen various vital details. Over the past two years, there has been erosion in performance from The Gardens, including: • a decline in the numbers of students served (Water Wizards) • inconsistencies and a high turnover of instructors • lack of communication and responses to emails • untimely billing • inconsistent and inadequate reporting In June 2015, District staff met with the (then) Executive Director and the Youth Education Manager from The Gardens to voice these concerns and reviewed the expectations listed in the Water Wizards portion of the contract. Staff requested immediate corrective actions over the next year and was assured there would be a significant increase in students served as well as better and more -timely reporting/billing going into the 2015-16 school year. To date, there has been no change in performance, and in some ways the situation has worsened. Educational Programming Vendor Change October 7, 2016 Page 2 After receiving the final invoices for the 2015-16 school year in June 2016, it was observed that there were only two Water Wizards classes conducted in April, and no classes in May or June. Staff followed up with the Youth Education Manager, asking if these were final numbers and expressing extreme disappointment over the lack of students served. No response has been received. Declining Service: There has been a significant decline in the number of students served by the Water Wizards Program since 2013 as illustrated below: 2011 ! , 20119 2014 2015 Water at itiater Water Water Wizards lizarcal Wizards Wizards IT Students 990 11111 iii9D6 1263 644 III Classrooms 46 II it4t 49 26 II Schools 14 MI a 15 I 10 A number of long-term issues at The Gardens appear to have led to the decline in performance, including no backup or redundancy for coverage of positions or projects, extreme staff turnover, and little or no internal oversight of the programs. Movinci Forward: The District has identified a new partner both willing and able to provide educational programming services. Sustainable Contra Costa (SCOCO), a local nonprofit organization providing programs and services that educate residents, students, businesses, and community leaders about how to implement sustainable practices, has an existing relationship with the District and currently provides educational services within the District's service area. Staff met with the President and Co -Founder in late June 2016, and the organization is very interested in pursuing a partnership with the District. SCOCO has the infrastructure, embedded teachers, classroom and scientific teaching experience which make them suited to provide the service the District requires to meet its Fiscal Year 2016-18 educational programming levels. The contract between The Gardens and the District expired in June 30, 2016. Staff has been in contact with the interim Executive Director of The Gardens, who is also their long-term Board President. Staff has explained in detail the reasons for moving forward with another vendor and has asked if The Gardens would consider a short-term contract to assist with the transition period. They declined the offer. Educational Programming Vendor Change October 7, 2016 Page 3 Staff envisions a two-year contract with SCOCO. In the meantime, staff will work through this transitional period to provide educational programming that meets the District's metrics for excellence and commitment to the community as environmental stewards. Staff will also work with SCOCO to help "right the ship" in terms of the Water Wizards and Sewer Science programs to bring the District back to 2013 levels and meet or exceed the educational goals set by the current Strategic Plan. Financial Impact: The contract with The Gardens currently costs approximately $23,000 per year. While the details of a future contract with SCOCO still need to be determined, the new contract could provide savings to the District while increasing service and communication levels. After a two-year contract period with SCOCO to restore educational programming service levels , staff plans to do an RFP that will include new educational programming aimed at serving a more comprehensive population of students. Board approval is not required for the General Manager to enter into this contract. It is being brought to the Committee's attention as an informational item.