Prosperity Denver Fund facing changes amid challenges
An initiative funded by Denver taxpayers, designed to support Denver Public Schools high school graduates, isn't working as hoped. Now, the city council may step in to make changes to the Prosperity Denver Fund.
Currently, only about 45% of DPS graduates go on to further their education either in traditional colleges or other post-secondary programs. Money is often the greatest barrier, but many DPS students don't qualify for the scholarships from the Prosperity Denver Fund simply because of where they live.
"We're dealing with gentrification, a lot of displacement in our city," said TeRay Esquibel, a DPS alum and executive director of Ednium: The Alumni Collective. "The Denver Scholarship Foundation identified students who would've otherwise been eligible but couldn't because their parents couldn't afford to live in the city anymore but they're still Denver students."
Current rules require DPS students and alumni to live in the city for at least 36 months to be eligible for support from the Prosperity Denver Fund. The city is looking to change that, so students have only to graduate from DPS, even if they no longer live in Denver. It's also looking at increasing the eligibility age from 25 to 30, as that is the fastest-growing population seeking post-secondary education.
"We have a lot of students who didn't get to go to school until after they were 25 and they're looking for some support, and they're otherwise denied," Esquibel told CBS News Colorado.
Some 20% of Denver Scholarship Foundation applicants did not qualify for this funding last year because of the age and residency requirements. It is also why 61% of the funds raised in 2022 couldn't be spent. City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore said the rules put in place five years ago weren't intended to create such barriers.
"If you think about 2018 compared to where we're at in 2023, we've learned a lot," she said. "The council was very conservative because we did not want to run out of money. We didn't want to allow anybody to take advantage of it without any residential requirements because we were afraid it was going to run out."
Gilmore explained some $15 million will be collected this year, and if current rules remain, only $5 million would be deployed. The city wants to ensure more grads and alumni have an opportunity to cash in, which is also why another proposed change would allow the scholarships to fund more certification programs like apprenticeships, not just traditional colleges.
"This gives us a great opportunity to self-correct early on and make sure we're getting those funds out," she said.
The public can weigh in on the proposed changes at the city council meeting on Monday, May 15.
For more information on statistics and proposed changes, click here.