PREPARED BY: ELIZABETH LOPEZ DATE OF MEETING: 2/17/2026
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONSIDER RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN EVENT SPONSORSHIP OF $2,000 TO HELMS MIDDLE SCHOOL (WITH BAY AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCES AS NON-PROFIT 501c(3) ORGANIZATION ACTING AS FISCAL AGENT) TO SUPPORT A WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP FOR HELMS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH THE CLOSE UP PROGRAM
CEQA: This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution
Body
Compliance statements
Build a Healthy Community: Foster Youth Leadership/Cultivation of the next generation of civic leaders is an adopted policy item in the FY 2025-27 City Council Priority Work plan, effective April 7, 2025.
CEQA Compliance Statement
This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
BACKGROUND
On January 21, 2026, the City Manager’s Office received a request from Tana Monteiro and Ray Hernandez, from Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) to support Helms Middle School students to go to Washington D.C. with the Close Up Program.
This sponsorship will help support sending ten students and two school chaperones to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia for a week during Spring Break with the Close Up Program to learn about the nation's history, public services, and civic engagement. This will be the first time flying away from home for many students. This trip helps support students in becoming independent, and to begin to think about what going away to college would be like, which will show students that they have the agency and confidence to attend college.
The Close Up Program is an immersive program where students use the nation’s capital as a living classroom, where they explore iconic sites and discover how the issues and ideals represented in them impact us today. Through interactive workshops and facilitated debates and deliberations, students gain a deeper understanding of both historical and current issues, the importance of civil discourse, and their unique role in our political system.
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the sponsorship in the amount of $2,000 to Bay Area Community Recourses as the fiscal agent for the Washington D.C. trip for Helms Middle School students.
FISCAL IMPACT
A total of $30,000 has been budgeted and earmarked for Annual Event Sponsorships under the Adopted FY 2025-26 General Operating Budget - City Council Department (100-1110-44050). As those funds have been exhausted, City Council approved an additional $10,000 for FY 2025-26 Special Event Sponsorships via Resolution 2025-140. The authorized sponsorship in the amount of $2,000 will be deducted from this account code leaving a remaining balance of $5,000 in FY 2025-26 for future sponsorships approved by the City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Att A - Resolution
Att B - Request for Sponsorship