Board authorizes retainer with outside grant-writing firm pending solicitor review amid cost questions

The Scranton School District authorized a retainer agreement with Total Grant Solutions to provide grant-writing services, voting on March 2 to engage the firm at a proposed $4,000 per month, contingent on review and approval by the district solicitor.

Administration said the retainer would be used immediately to support urgent applications, including the state Public School Facility grant, and that contracting a vendor could be less expensive than hiring a full-time district grant writer once benefits and overhead are considered. "Based off of the proposal...there could be potentially...about $28,000 savings by with the contracted services," an administration memo said.

Some board members questioned the price and asked for further comparison to other districts and vendors that have reported lower monthly costs. One director said the memo indicated an "average client spending" figure closer to $18,000 per year and asked why Scranton's proposed annual cost would be about $48,000.

The motion carried, with several no votes and one or more board members requesting solicitor review and final contractual language. Administration said the engagement would be used immediately to assist with a time-sensitive grant opportunity forwarded by a congressional office, and they flagged that late grant notices sometimes require rapid turnaround.

Next steps: solicitor to review contract; administration to begin vendor-supported grant writing on priority applications while continuing to evaluate cost-effectiveness against hiring a district employee for the role.