No action on proposed childcare rate increases

CLINTONVILLE – After almost one hour of discussion at the Clintonville Board of Education’s April 27 meeting about proposed rate increases for services at Dellwood Childcare Center, the board decided to take no action but vowed to discuss the proposed rate increases at a future meeting.

Public comments
During the Public Comments portion of the meeting, Brandon Lohrentz addressed the board to oppose what he described as a “drastic daycare rate increase as proposed because it is extreme, unnecessary, and completely disconnected from the district’s own findings.”
He added that the proposed 30-40% increase in rates for Dellwood Childcare Center was not an adjustment of rates, but “a financial gut punch to working families.” Lohrentz claimed that the district’s research found that every childcare center operated by a school district operates at a deficit.
“That’s normal. The goal is to be cost neutral, not profitable,” Lohrentz said.

Applying for grants was also addressed by Lohrentz.
“Nothing in your report showed the new cost that justifies a $200,000 revenue increase,” Lohrentz claimed. “This isn’t about quality. This isn’t about YoungStar. It isn’t about sustainability. It’s shifting the district’s financial burden onto parents and teachers and calling it necessary.”
Heather Ripp also addressed the board. She told the board that she understands there are costs associated with operating Dellwood Childcare Center, as well as the concerns that taxpayers have.
“But I also want to make sure we’re looking at the full picture of what the center provides for our community,” Ripp said. “This isn’t just childcare, it’s a service that keeps people working, keeps families here, and keeps our local businesses staffed.”
She said there are only two other licensed childcare options in the area, and both are at capacity.
“If this center becomes unaffordable, families won’t have anywhere else to go,” Ripp said.
Ripp asked the board to reconsider the size of the proposed rate increases, and to “work toward a rate that is fair and reasonable and in line with the rest of our community. We all want Clintonville to grow and to retain families and to support the businesses that keep this town running. Affordable childcare is a key part of that.”

Childcare tours
Leading off the discussion, Clintonville Superintendent Troy Kuhn shared information with the board about the district’s visits to childcare operations in the Shiocton, Weyauwega-Fremont, Menasha, Tigerton, and Bowler school districts to see how they operate. He said all the childcare centers operate in a deficit. All but one of the districts operate the childcare centers through the district’s Fund 80.
“We checked with our auditors to see if we could run it through Fund 10, they said no,” Kuhn said.

All the childcare centers have a goal of being cost-neutral, Kuhn said. They all also have a goal of using the childcare centers for the retention of district staff.
“One of the biggest differences between our childcare and a lot of the other childcares is ours is in a separate building,” Kuhn said. “So, when you look at utilities – water, sewer, and maintenance to the building, we run that in Fund 80, where a lot of the other districts run it in Fund 10.”
All of the childcare centers are YoungStar rated and state licensed. Most of them have a rating of two or three, while Dellwood Childcare Center has a rating of four.
He said most of the lead teachers at the childcare centers have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, similar to a teacher. Those employees are full-time with benefits.
“Where they make their money is they allow school-aged children to come to their childcare center for after school, before school, and summer care,” Kuhn said.

Recommendations
Kuhn said the district’s administration recommended that Dellwood Childcare Center continue to be funded through Fund 80. Also, the childcare staff continue to serve as custodians and janitors in order to keep expenses lower. The childcare center should also continue to be rated by YoungStar.
Moving the district’s childcare center to Clintonville Elementary School was discussed, Kuhn said.
“It could be done,” Kuhn said. “I think it would create too much disruption. That’s my opinion.”

Rate increases

When developing the proposed rate increases for Dellwood Childcare Center, Kuhn said the proposed new rates were in the middle of the rates charged by the childcare centers the district visited.
The proposed rate increases included increasing the weekly rate for full time infants from $225 to $300 per week and the daily rate from $55 to $75; for toddlers from $200 to $275 per week and the daily rate from $48 to $65; and for pre-school from $185 to $250 per week and the daily rate from $46 to $60.
Kuhn said the rates for childcare centers near the Fox Valley are “well over” $300 per week.
Another change in the rate proposal was to charge families for a “spot” not actual attendance of their child.
“So, if you’re supposed to be here three days a week, whether you attend one (day) or three (days), you’re getting charged for three (days),” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said most school operated childcare centers charge that way.
The rate proposal also included a $100 holding fee per child per month to retain their spot if parents elect to not have their child attend during the summer months of June to September.
Another addition to the proposed rates was a $50 registration/supply fee that would be charged annually for each child. A maximum for a family would be a $100 fee. It would be billed on July 1 each year.
He added that the cost of breakfast and lunch is included in the pricing for Dellwood Childcare Center. Some childcare centers charge extra for meals.
If the board approved the new rates as proposed, the deficit for Dellwood Childcare Center would decrease by around $200,000.
“So, as long as our expenses don’t go up, we would be roughly in that $100,000 to $200,000 deficit that the majority of other childcare centers are at,” Kuhn said.

Board discussion
Board member Christopher Hoffmann questioned the lack of grants received by the district for Dellwood Childcare Center.
Kuhn said the grants and funds from the grants keep changing. In addition, the majority of available grants are for supplies and classroom materials.
“It doesn’t get put into salary, benefits, or anything like that,” Kuhn said.

Board Vice President Kris Strauman said when she saw the proposed rate increases for Dellwood Childcare Center, it made her “sick.”
“Talk about a disservice to the community,” Strauman said. “…Every single thing that this school district does is funded by tax money.”
Hoffmann said he was not against Dellwood Childcare Center.
“My point is that after nine months of talking about this, we have not found one way to cut costs, and instead we are looking to pass on the costs, rather than running more efficiently,” Hoffmann said. “…I find it very disheartening that we cannot find a way to run more effectively.”
Kuhn said the district could replace all the fulltime employees at Dellwood Childcare Center and replace them with part-time employees to save money. He added later in the discussion that recently, as fulltime Dellwood Childcare Center employees have left, they have been replaced with part-time employees.
He added that he understands the concerns about the proposed rate increases.
Board member Jason Moder said the proposed rate increases can be viewed in a few different ways.
“When changes were made from the initial thoughts of what that daycare was going to be and how it was going to be ran, the rates should have been changed then accordingly, and we wouldn’t be in a spot like this, because we would already be garnering that,” Moder said.
He added that Dellwood Childcare Center will probably always operate in a deficit no matter what the board does.
“At the end of the day what we’re saying here, is what way, what avenues can we take to make it less of a burden on the taxpayers,” Moder said.
Strauman said Dellwood Childcare Center is a “good program and it’s what we need.”
“We can’t do this to the people that are utilizing this,” Strauman said.
Moder said he has said in the past that raising rates to a high amount should be the last thing the district does. He said he has advocated for other ways to improve Dellwood Childcare Center’s finances.
Huber said he is not comfortable raising the rates 30-40% at one time. He suggested gradual rate increases. This would allow parents to prepare for the rate increases.
“We need to find other avenues instead of jacking up rates all the time,” Moder said. “The problem is we’re not finding those other avenues. They’re not being found. The pressure has to be put on people.”