Keeping Dellwood Childcare Center solvent

CLINTONVILLE – Over the past month, the finances of Dellwood Childcare Center, operated by the Clintonville School District, has been a topic of discussion as the district grapples with its finances.
During the discussion about a recent Dellwood Childcare Center Committee meeting at the Clintonville Board of Education’s Sept. 8 meeting, Board Vice President Kris Strauman said six families pulled their children out of Dellwood Childcare Center after the recent rate increases were enacted. There were a total of seven children enrolled between those six families.
“Their reasons they left was because of the expense,” Strauman said.
Since there is a waiting list of children to be enrolled at Dellwood, the open spots were filled from the waiting list, Strauman said.
She added, one family left for one day before returning the following day.

“She came back and said ‘I have to have my kids back here because of the quality daycare that you have,’” Strauman said.
Dellwood still has a waiting list of children, Strauman said.

Recommendations
Strauman told the board that the Dellwood Committee recommended that the district distribute information to the public about Dellwood Childcare.
“We need to educate our community, board members, teachers, about the quality of the childcare and what we’re doing compared to other childcare centers,” Strauman said.

Each child enrolled at Dellwood has an individualized education plan and every child has goals that they have to meet, Strauman said.
She added that the committee also did not want to send a community survey out about just Dellwood Childcare, that the survey should include questions about all Fund 80 expenditures.
Board member Mark Zachow said it needs to be stressed that Dellwood is an “educational daycare.”
“It’s not just somewhere where you go and drop off your child for the day,” Zachow said. “They are learning.”
Board President Glen Drew Lundt asked how the district can be consistent in distributing accurate information to the public. He said inaccurate information is circulating in the community that the school board wants to close Dellwood Childcare.
“I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Lundt said. “It’s never been discussed here, for the record. And whoever is saying it, obviously doesn’t know what they’re talking about. We are looking at everything. Everything. And it’s not just the daycare. It’s not just Fund 80 or Fund 10. We’re looking at everything.”
Lundt questioned how that information got out to the community, and asked how the board can stay united about communicating that closing Dellwood was never discussed.
Kuhn acknowledged that he has taken some calls and emails about the rumors of Dellwood closing.
“The most disheartening things are the rumors that are out there and I have to go over to the daycare and kind of calm the waters a little bit,” Kuhn said.

Background

Kuhn also clarified that Dellwood was not created through a referendum or community survey.
“The childcare center was created by seven board members at the time,” Kuhn said. “I believe it was January 2020, somebody can fact check me on that one, because the buzz across the state of Wisconsin was childcare centers were at districts.”
Since then, though, Kuhn said COVID happened.
“How does COVID play into this? The fact that, staff, in order to keep staff there, we had to offer benefits,” Kuhn said. “That was my decision. I was not in the original decision, but I was never told any different and we combined the handbook. We have staff now that are treated as paraprofessionals, according to the employee handbook, and if you’re fulltime over 30 hours, you receive benefits.”

Sept. 16 meeting

At a special Sept. 16 board meeting, Nick Curran of CESA 8, who the district has contracted with regarding financial matters involving the district, said there has been a lot of emotions displayed during school board meetings regarding Dellwood, adding that he’d like to get the board moving forward without emotion.
“So, we can figure out our direction of Fund 80,” Curran said. “Then we can start talking about referendum, budget, and all the stuff that comes with it. But if we don’t get this figured out, I’m concerned that it’s going to be really hard to get the rest figured out.”
Later in the discussion Board Treasurer Jason Moder said he has never heard a complaint from a parent who had a child attend Dellwood Childcare. He also said he feels everyone agrees that the community needs a daycare because there is a daycare shortage.
Moder said there are a lot of options available to the district.
“At the end of the day, what we’re looking at doing is trying to be fiscally responsible and prudent to the people in this district,” Moder said. “We’re putting our best foot forward as far as the education of our children and taking their financial aspects to heart in doing so. We’re trying to give our community the best bang for their buck.”
Currently, Moder said he does not think the community is “getting the best bang for their buck.”
Regarding Dellwood Childcare and the Rec Center, board member Christopher Hoffmann asked if Clintonville is a district that has a childcare center and Rec Center, or if is it an “all-encompassing three headed monster” that the district doesn’t have the ability to dictate what the priority is.
Zachow told the board that everyone pays taxes for services that they do not use. He said Dellwood Childcare is one of those things for some taxpayers.
Moder said he agreed, but added that the board can’t make decisions with their “hearts on their sleeve.”
“Our judgements are to be the voice of the people we represent,” Moder said.
Kuhn agreed that personal opinions need to be put aside and board members need to look at what is currently taking place, understand what happened in the past, and set a direction for the future.
Curren said the Clintonville School District is unique because it offers both a childcare center and a Rec Center.