Members of the Greene County Early Learning Center board were at the Jefferson-Scranton school board meeting April 16 to talk about what they’ve called a “growing problem.” Greene County Development Corp’s Ken Paxton called it “a potential serious problem” in his monthly report to the Jefferson city council April 22. The ELC has outgrown the space it leases at the south grade building and has a waiting list of 26 children.
The south grade building houses only the J-S/Greene County schools central offices and the ELC. The ELC leases four former classrooms for childcare, including one that is used for the Pied Pipers 3-year-old preschool and the program for school age children. A fifth former classroom is used by the ELC for office space.
The ELC has already arranged to use an available room at the middle school (only a large parking lot separates the two buildings) for the school age program once the school year is finished for the Pied Pipers. That will free up one room, but that won’t be enough to serve all those on the waiting list.
ELC board member Michelle Fields and the J-S board talked about two different options for additional space: a mobile unit similar to what Greene County Medical Center is using for public health office space during the construction project, or another middle school classroom as office space. The room the ELC now uses as an office would be used for childcare. Fields said that moving school age children and office space to the middle school would provide 37 additional spots.
Christensen cautioned the ELC board about extending itself too far, in case the need for additional spots proves to be temporary. Fields said using space at the middle school would be less of a financial commitment and “less scary” for the board that going with the mobile unit.
The availability of childcare is a consideration in matters of economic development, and Paxton is helping the ELC make connections with possible funding sources for expansion. When Paxton mentioned the ELC to the city council, he said that most of the children on the waiting list already live in the community, and he is concerned that not having childcare available will work against efforts to draw people, particularly veterans, to fill the 800 or so new jobs he says are on the horizon. “If we’re going to do Home Base Iowa we can’t go out and try to attract veterans to our community and say ‘Yeah, we’ll put your kid Number 27 on the waiting list’,” Paxton said at the city council meeting.
The J-S board will dissolve June 30 with the reorganization, so many decisions are being deferred to the Greene County board of education. Space options for the Early Learning Center will be on the Greene County board’s May 14 agenda.
