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Riham Feshir

St. Paul schools lose out on grant after leadership turbulence

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Updated: 3:45 p.m. | Posted: 12:11 p.m.

The Wallace Foundation is no longer considering the St. Paul Public School District for a potentially multi-million dollar grant aimed at promoting social and emotional learning in and out of school, citing recent leadership turbulence.

St. Paul was one of 24 cities invited to submit an application for the grant from a pool of 122 nominated. A threshold requirement to get funding is stable leadership to make sure plans are implemented throughout the grant period. Superintendent Valeria Silva was ousted by the school board this week.

In a letter to Silva, Nancy Devine, the Wallace Foundation's director of learning and enrichment, said the foundation can no longer support the district and is canceling an upcoming site visit.

"While we understand and celebrate the fact that the commitment to SEL (social and emotional learning) extends beyond the Superintendent's office," Devine wrote, "We cannot make an exception for St. Paul that we did not make others that were declined due to superintendent transitions."

The grant could have been significant, according to a statement from Saint Paul Public Schools.

"Wallace said it was 'expecting to invest in the range of $70 to $80 million over four to five years," said the SPPS statement. "They expected to select 'five or six of the cities or counties awarded planning grantees for subsequent multi-year implementation' beginning 2017-18. We calculated that, had SPPS been awarded implementation funding, we might have received a total of $10-$15 million.

"SPPS applies for dozens of grants annually; we are never assured of receiving them," said the SPPS statement. "We were excited to apply for the Wallace SEL grant primarily because it aligns more or less perfectly with district efforts to improve school climates and incorporate restorative practices."

The Wallace Foundation letter praised the district for its transparency in the application about the work that remains.

"While this is likely disappointing news," Devine wrote, "we hope that you found the application process generative of local cross-sector conversations."

Silva has led the district since 2009 with tensions rising over falling enrollment and student violence. She'll stay with the district in an advisory position until September of next year.

Correction (June 24, 2016): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the school board removed Silva with less than a month left in her contract.