By LORI FAYBIK Courier correspondent
February 09, 2009 11:31 am
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EDDYVILLE — The Eddyville-Blakesburg School Board heard from a large group of parents who are passionate about keeping the Eddyville Childcare Center open full time.
Earlier this year, Superintendent Dean Cook recommended that the board partially close the center. His recommendation includes keeping before and after school child care and the five-week summer day camp open.
The child care center has been operating in the red since it opened in 2001, with a net loss of nearly $300,000. That difference in revenue and expenses has been coming out of the Eddyville-Blakesburg School District’s budget. It was pointed out that in recent years the district has faced some financial difficulties while financing the day care.
However, Cargill CEO Gavin Atkinson asked the board to keep the center open.
“We look at it as being a real treasure and a jewel for the community,” he said.
Atkinson reminded the board that Cargill has provided a lot of support for the center and that several Cargill employees are clients of the center. He told the board that Cargill is willing to pay for third-party assistance in reviewing the center’s finances.
Parent Teresa Long told the board that the community’s reputation is on the line.
“Are we prepared to tell the local, state and federal governmental and private organizations who made the child care center possible that their contributions for community development were scrapped after eight years?” she asked.
Another parent and Cargill employee, Shari Ruble, who is expecting her third child, said that even though she lives an hour away, she chose this center because she is impressed with the quality of care.
“I have not honestly seen one that even compares to this day care center. People from the community are willing to help and I’m willing to help,” she said.
One parent, Joellen Breon, spoke on behalf of school-age children in the district. Breon praised the day care parents for being advocates for their children but noted that she needs to be an advocate for her own children.
She told the board that originally she was in favor of opening the child care facility. However, during a school spending freeze in 2003-04, school activities for children in the district were cut. When she asked the superintendent at that time about the cut, she was told that the freeze was directly related to the day care deficit.
Breon told the Courier that since there was never a public vote to use school funds toward the child care center, many people in the Eddyville-Blakesburg community may not be aware that money that is intended to be used toward the education of their children is going toward the cost of day care for other children.
She noted that good quality day care is very important and that she does not want to see the center close; she just wants school-age children to benefit from the funding that is allocated to them.
However, day care parent Johanna Goodwin credited the child care center with bringing 12 open-enrolled students into the school district. She pointed out that open-enrollment funds for those students could bring over $800,000 into the district throughout the course of their education.
However, she speculated that if the center closes, there are currently 33 children attending the day care that could possibly open enroll elsewhere, resulting in a possible open enrollment revenue loss of more than $2 million.
Cargill employee Bill Snellman offered the board several suggestions for improving profitability such as improving the waiting list and room ratio management.
He also suggested that overhead administrative costs should be addressed, explaining that the secretary’s split in salary allocation may not accurately reflect the way time is divided between the elementary school and day care.
Board member Dan Hulbert advised parents not to be angry with Cook about the issue.
“I don’t think Dr. Cook wants to close the day care. He is doing what we employ him to do, keeping us advised,” he said. “We are not here to make money on the day care. It is more than a day care; it is an extension of the education process.”
The board will consider this issue at its next regular school board meeting on Feb. 23.
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