County Schools Hurry to Meet Preschool Program Deadline
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
According to Warsaw Community School Director of Special Services Deb Blatz at the board meeting Tuesday, “We just learned June 5 that our county was chosen as one of 18 counties in Indiana in the running for the preschool voucher program.”
The program was established by the 2014 Indiana General Assembly and is being administered by the state’s Family Social Services Agency. Blatz said Governor Mike Pence signed it into law March 27.
Blatz said the grant is for parents of 4-year-olds to send their children to the preschool of their choice within the county. The parents’ income has to be 127 percent below the poverty level, she said.
Administrators from Kosciusko area schools met with United Way of Kosciusko County Executive Director Pay Coy Tuesday to discuss applying jointly for the program.
Interested parties from each of the 18 counties – 12 urban and six rural, with an estimated 17,000 eligible kids altogether – were invited by the FSSA to submit a written “Statement of County Readiness” to be considered for the five available spots. Statements would address readiness measures such as the county’s ability to assist with meeting the financial match, participation of current and new providers, community and family engagement and county readiness for early launch in January, stated an announcement from the FSSA released June 5.
Blatz said the money “flows from the FSSA directly to the preschool providers or the parents, we’re not sure about that.”
She stated the schools are excited about the opportunity to provide funding for parents so more children can go to preschool.
“We don’t know if we’ll be chosen to be one of the five to get it, but as a county we decided it’s worth it to try for it,” Blatz said.
Ultimately, she said Pence wants a longitudinal study of the program to follow the kids until third grade to see if it’s worth it.
“It totally falls in line with what the United Way and we want to do,” Blatz said of the program. “We will look at funding as a total county. I think that’s where the United Way will be helpful to us.”
For WCS, she said the district will have to go above and beyond where it currently is in regards to pre-kindergarten education. “We have to find additional children not being served,” she said.
Board Vice President Matt Dick asked about transportation for the kids. Blatz said that was not in the program at all, but children will have to attend preschools in the county.
“I’m also contacting Head Start, Early Child Alliance and anyone interested in preschool to show we have a real collaborative interest in this,” she said.
Dan Metzger, board member, said WCS already has families on its waiting list for its preschools at Claypool and Leesburg. He wanted to know what the program would do to WCS and what they wanted the school board to do.
Blatz said the only preschools at Whitko, Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee were its programs for the developmentally disabled. The PRPP could allow them to expand. According to the FSSA, Blatz said, Warsaw does have 497 eligible students and 412 are underserved.
“I see this as a possibility to help fund additional preschools, not only for Warsaw Schools but also other preschools in town,” she said.
She said the board just needed to give its consent at its regular meeting Monday for Warsaw to be part of the collaboration to complete the application.
The 18 counties invited to apply are Allen, Bartholomew, Delaware, Elkhart, Grant, Howard, Jackson, Kosciusko, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Noble, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vigo and Wayne.
Also during the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott presented the board with the 2014-15 textbook rental charges. Overall, he said not much changed this year over last.
For the two middle schools and high school, charges will depend on the classes a student selects.
At the elementary level, charges will be $139.25 for kindergarten; $170 for first grade; $161 for second grade; $156 for third grade; $161 for fourth grade; $172 for fifth grade; and $155 for sixth grade.
In other business, the board reviewed the following items, which will be voted on at its regular meeting Monday:
• An agreement with the Bowen Center for an additional behavior health service provider for the two middle schools and high school. Currently, two providers serve the more than 3,400 students in the three secondary schools. The cost is $33,000 for the first year with money coming from the general fund.
• The purchase of software licenses for Differentiated Literacy Solution and Professional Development Services for Title I and special needs students from Achieve 3000 for $212,061.62 and $18,711 respectively. Funding will come from Title I and IDEA Part B 2013-14.
• The purchase of 535 iPad Minis® from Apple® for the sixth grade for WCS’s 1:1 program. The cost of $50,743.47 is for the first year of the three-year lease program. Funding for the first year of the lease will come from a 1:1 grant from the state for $25,000 and $25,743.47 out of the capital projects fund. Total cost for all 535 iPad Minis over the course of the three-year lease will be $149,265.
• A five-year agreement with Apex Learning to replace the out-of-date Plato software at the Gateway Educational Center and the E2020 credit recovery software at Warsaw Community High School. The five-year total cost is $386,649.25, with WCS making yearly payments of $79,910.
• Administrative contracts for renewal, which begin July 1 and end June 30, 2015.
Administrators with 260 contracted days are Troy Akers, David Anson, Ronna Kawsky and Wendy Wildman Long. Steven Ferber, Jon Lippe and JoElla Smyth have 225 contracted days. The rest have 215, including Randy Dahms, Matthew Deeds, Chris Gensinger, Tracy Horrell, Tom Kline, Tom Ray, Melissa Rees, Terry Roe, Amanda Scroggs, Lee Snider, Cathleen Snyder and John Snyder.
• An update on the potential to turn the old board room at the central office into a human resources department, which currently has an office in the basement. The proposed floor plan was presented by Scearce Rudisel Architects. Construction could begin as early as the fall.[[In-content Ad]]
According to Warsaw Community School Director of Special Services Deb Blatz at the board meeting Tuesday, “We just learned June 5 that our county was chosen as one of 18 counties in Indiana in the running for the preschool voucher program.”
The program was established by the 2014 Indiana General Assembly and is being administered by the state’s Family Social Services Agency. Blatz said Governor Mike Pence signed it into law March 27.
Blatz said the grant is for parents of 4-year-olds to send their children to the preschool of their choice within the county. The parents’ income has to be 127 percent below the poverty level, she said.
Administrators from Kosciusko area schools met with United Way of Kosciusko County Executive Director Pay Coy Tuesday to discuss applying jointly for the program.
Interested parties from each of the 18 counties – 12 urban and six rural, with an estimated 17,000 eligible kids altogether – were invited by the FSSA to submit a written “Statement of County Readiness” to be considered for the five available spots. Statements would address readiness measures such as the county’s ability to assist with meeting the financial match, participation of current and new providers, community and family engagement and county readiness for early launch in January, stated an announcement from the FSSA released June 5.
Blatz said the money “flows from the FSSA directly to the preschool providers or the parents, we’re not sure about that.”
She stated the schools are excited about the opportunity to provide funding for parents so more children can go to preschool.
“We don’t know if we’ll be chosen to be one of the five to get it, but as a county we decided it’s worth it to try for it,” Blatz said.
Ultimately, she said Pence wants a longitudinal study of the program to follow the kids until third grade to see if it’s worth it.
“It totally falls in line with what the United Way and we want to do,” Blatz said of the program. “We will look at funding as a total county. I think that’s where the United Way will be helpful to us.”
For WCS, she said the district will have to go above and beyond where it currently is in regards to pre-kindergarten education. “We have to find additional children not being served,” she said.
Board Vice President Matt Dick asked about transportation for the kids. Blatz said that was not in the program at all, but children will have to attend preschools in the county.
“I’m also contacting Head Start, Early Child Alliance and anyone interested in preschool to show we have a real collaborative interest in this,” she said.
Dan Metzger, board member, said WCS already has families on its waiting list for its preschools at Claypool and Leesburg. He wanted to know what the program would do to WCS and what they wanted the school board to do.
Blatz said the only preschools at Whitko, Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee were its programs for the developmentally disabled. The PRPP could allow them to expand. According to the FSSA, Blatz said, Warsaw does have 497 eligible students and 412 are underserved.
“I see this as a possibility to help fund additional preschools, not only for Warsaw Schools but also other preschools in town,” she said.
She said the board just needed to give its consent at its regular meeting Monday for Warsaw to be part of the collaboration to complete the application.
The 18 counties invited to apply are Allen, Bartholomew, Delaware, Elkhart, Grant, Howard, Jackson, Kosciusko, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Noble, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vigo and Wayne.
Also during the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott presented the board with the 2014-15 textbook rental charges. Overall, he said not much changed this year over last.
For the two middle schools and high school, charges will depend on the classes a student selects.
At the elementary level, charges will be $139.25 for kindergarten; $170 for first grade; $161 for second grade; $156 for third grade; $161 for fourth grade; $172 for fifth grade; and $155 for sixth grade.
In other business, the board reviewed the following items, which will be voted on at its regular meeting Monday:
• An agreement with the Bowen Center for an additional behavior health service provider for the two middle schools and high school. Currently, two providers serve the more than 3,400 students in the three secondary schools. The cost is $33,000 for the first year with money coming from the general fund.
• The purchase of software licenses for Differentiated Literacy Solution and Professional Development Services for Title I and special needs students from Achieve 3000 for $212,061.62 and $18,711 respectively. Funding will come from Title I and IDEA Part B 2013-14.
• The purchase of 535 iPad Minis® from Apple® for the sixth grade for WCS’s 1:1 program. The cost of $50,743.47 is for the first year of the three-year lease program. Funding for the first year of the lease will come from a 1:1 grant from the state for $25,000 and $25,743.47 out of the capital projects fund. Total cost for all 535 iPad Minis over the course of the three-year lease will be $149,265.
• A five-year agreement with Apex Learning to replace the out-of-date Plato software at the Gateway Educational Center and the E2020 credit recovery software at Warsaw Community High School. The five-year total cost is $386,649.25, with WCS making yearly payments of $79,910.
• Administrative contracts for renewal, which begin July 1 and end June 30, 2015.
Administrators with 260 contracted days are Troy Akers, David Anson, Ronna Kawsky and Wendy Wildman Long. Steven Ferber, Jon Lippe and JoElla Smyth have 225 contracted days. The rest have 215, including Randy Dahms, Matthew Deeds, Chris Gensinger, Tracy Horrell, Tom Kline, Tom Ray, Melissa Rees, Terry Roe, Amanda Scroggs, Lee Snider, Cathleen Snyder and John Snyder.
• An update on the potential to turn the old board room at the central office into a human resources department, which currently has an office in the basement. The proposed floor plan was presented by Scearce Rudisel Architects. Construction could begin as early as the fall.[[In-content Ad]]
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