Full Notification

The Morgan Hill Police Department recently received a grant award from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Proposition 56 – Tobacco Law Enforcement Grant Program. The intent of this grant is to reduce and prevent the use of tobacco products among youth, teens, and our community at large. These includes cigarettes, vape pens, and electronic cigarettes using flavored tobacco products. The grant total is $431,728, to be expended over two fiscal years from FY 2021-22 through FY 2022-23. The City previously received a grant award in 2018 from Proposition 56 funds that will end on June 30, 2021, which funded a School Resource Officer (SRO), education, outreach and enforcement activities and our peer-to-peer team Warriors Against Vaping and E-cigarettes (WAVE).

When the Police Department submitted the application for this new grant in August 2020, our intent was to continue the work and the programming the SRO had developed. Superintendent Steve Betando recommended support of the grant, however, at its meeting of March 2, 2021, the Board of Trustees of the Morgan Hill Unified School District voted 4- 2 to not continue the work of the grant-funded SRO within its schools.

“Although the Board of Education chose not to accept the Tobacco Grant, as a District parent and community member, I am delighted that the Department of Justice has allowed the Morgan Hill Police Department to restructure the grant, enabling the program to continue its important work, albeit utilizing different strategies, in educating our youth about the dangers of tobacco and vape use,” said School Board President Wendy Sullivan.

The Police Department notified the DOJ that we had to decline the grant due to the School Board’s decision, but DOJ approached us with a new and exciting anti-vaping/tobacco program. DOJ recognized the success of our current grant and wanted to build upon its success. Furthermore, Morgan Hill is the only city within Santa Clara County to receive this grant award.

Grant funding will now provide salary and benefits for an existing Community Enforcement Police Officer (CEO) dedicated to anti-vaping/tobacco outreach, education, and enforcement. The responsibilities of the CEO will include trainings for community-based organizations, churches, and clubs on tobacco-related issues occurring within our Community. The CEO will conduct tobacco retailer compliance checks and retailer education sessions to ensure retailers are not selling tobacco products to minors and follow the City’s ordinance prohibiting the sale of liquid and flavored tobacco. Grant funds will also include over-time hours for Police Officers and Multi-Service Officers to conduct city-wide enforcement activities at parks, events, and festivals. The Police Department looks forward to the opportunity to continue and further the intent of this new grant by taking anti-vaping/tobacco messaging citywide.

School District Superintendent Steve Betando said "I am very relieved and thankful to the City of Morgan Hill for amending the grant and obtaining approval from the Department of Justice so the citizens of Morgan Hill can benefit from our Police Department's work to curb the tobacco epidemic among our youth. The alarming data from a 2020 study by the Center for Disease Control found a high rate of middle school and high school students report current use of two or more tobacco products. In 2019, 30% of every 100 high school students said they tried two or more tobacco products. With acceptance of vaping, I am certain that number is escalating. My deepest thanks to the City of Morgan Hill and Chief Palsgrove for pursuing the needed funds to support education and intervention against a destructive disease and awful habits among our youth."

Anyone that may have questions regarding this press release is encouraged to contact Sergeant Bill Norman at 669-253-4982 or [email protected] or Police Analyst Margarita Balagso 408-776-7317 or [email protected].