School Committee approves a $915,000 de-leading grant for Rafael Hernández

What happened

The Boston School Committee's July 8, 2026 grants list includes a new $915,000.00 award for FY27 — the 'Friends of the Hernández De-Leading Project Grant', requested by principal Danielle Costello and categorised as a facility improvement for the Rafael Hernández School. This is money arriving on top of the school's budget rather than a reallocation inside it: the FY27 allocation table records $103,471 of external funding for Hernández, all of it Title I, with nothing under either IDEA or Other Grants.

Why it matters to families

The sum is roughly 15% of the school's entire $5,911,258 annual allocation, and it buys lead removal rather than teaching — a building problem large enough to need a funding stream of its own. It is also one of the few times this school is named in its governing body's record rather than being covered by a district-wide decision.

The evidence

The July 8, 2026 School Committee agenda lists under grants for approval: 'Friends of the Hernández De-Leading Project Grant | New | Danielle Costello, Principal - Rafael Hernández School | Facility Improvement | Rafael Hernández School | $915,000.00 | FY27'. The FY2027 allocation table for the same school records 'Other Grants: $ -' and 'IDEA: $ -', so the award sits outside that $5,911,258.

What this does not tell us

The agenda gives the amount, the applicant and the category, but not where the money comes from or what period it covers. Friends of the Rafael Hernández School is the school's own parent-teacher nonprofit, and a sum this size is far beyond what such an organisation raises in a year — so it is more likely a conduit for a larger lead-abatement programme, or a figure spanning several years, than one year of local fundraising. Nothing in the record reachable here says which, and this alert does not assume.

The source