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School board approves Hutchinson High School Child Care Center addition

The Hutchinson News - 2/15/2017

Feb. 15--The Hutchinson USD 308Board of Education Monday approved an addition to the Hutchinson High School Child Care Center, which once complete will help fill a community child care need and help the center become self-supporting in the future.

An old art classroom, which is currently being used for storage, will be renovated this summer into an additional day-care classroom for children age 3 to school-age, starting in the fall. Currently, the program only serves children up to age 3.

"We have children that when they turn 3, the parents have to go and find a day care out in the community, and sometimes that's kind of hard to do," said Charlotte Smith, center director. When these children leave they are typically placed on a waiting list. "Being able to offer this new classroom that the children can just transition into -- and they're familiar with the teachers -- is a very good thing for these kids."

Last week a local couple visited the center in hopes that the school board would approve expanding the classroom for the older children. Their children are now on the short waiting list, which Smith expects will grow once other parents learn about the news.

The district has been looking at ways for the day care to operate without grant or district funding, said Ray Hemman, USD 308 spokesman.

Kari Jackson Mailloux, Hutchinson Community Foundation program officer, said its Community Leadership Committee proactively created a $10,000 grant for the day care construction costs in hopes it would persuade board members to vote for the renovation.

They also hoped it'd show a clear message that the community supports expanding access to child care -- especially, she said, at the "quality centers that we already have."

"We are very pleased that they have made that decision for the good of their students, staff and the larger community," she said.

The proposal was approved 5-1 by the seven-member board Monday. Kail Denison abstained, which is counted as a "no" vote. Jeff Nichols removed himself from the decision due to a conflict of interest, as his daughter works for the center, Hemman said.

Smith said the center staff were excited to learn the board approved the proposal, especially because they weren't sure what the center's future looked like. They feared it would close.

That future now looks bright, she said.

The approval also calls for a rate increase from $120 to $155 a week for infants up to 1-year-old, and from $120 to $130 a week for children over age 1.

A day care task force will also be created to recommend additional changes that can make the center more profitable and desirable.

By increasing capacity, the district is expected to go from a projected $51,787 operating loss to a potential $9,459 income after expenses for 2017-18.

The renovation project is estimated to cost the district $9,690. It is expected to be finished by mid-August, or earlier, Hemman said.

A total of 40 children can be enrolled this fall, compared to the 28 it's currently licensed for. Smith will have to hire an additional teacher.

The 2,523-square-foot facility, which first opened during the 1999-2000 school year, was designed for infants and toddlers raised by mainly teen parents attending the high school.

"Since that time, fewer teen parents are needing the day care while more district employees and community members are using it," Hemman wrote in a school board summary.

Four spaces will be reserved this fall for infants cared for by teen parents. As these children age, their spot will continue to be protected at the day care.

All other spaces are for staff members, and if those go uncalled for, they can be filled by community members' children.

Smith said Hutchinson Community College students will be given priority before community members.

If all spaces are filled, and a teen or staff member wants their child to go to the day care, it's possible the community members' children could be bumped.

For the last two decades, the community foundation has engaged in early childhood leadership with the vision of Reno County having a "seamless system of inclusive services to help young children and families thrive," Mailloux said.

In addition to help from HCF, the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce is looking at ways to fund the center.

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(c)2017 The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, Kan.)

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