Grant money is coming for public preschools for nearly 100 children, North Platte Public Schools Superintendent Paul Brochtrup told the board of education Monday.
Brochtrup received word Friday from the Nebraska Department of Education that the district’s application had been granted. The state school board is expected to officially approve the grant in early June. "That’s good news,” Brochtrup said. Board members made no comment. Brochtrup said work will begin immediately to put the new preschool program together. Many private preschool operators opposed public preschools, and urged the school district to work with them to reach children who are not attending preschools.
On April 14, the board voted 5-1 to accept grant money, with Jim Paloucek casting the dissenting vote, after a crowded board meeting with private preschool providers. Under the grant, the school district will receive $250,000 a year for three years from the Department of Education, plus another $60,000 the first year to help launch three preschools – one each at Jefferson, Lincoln and Buffalo elementary schools.
The three new preschools could open as early as October and no later than January 2009, depending on how fast school administrators can make arrangements, administrators have said. When grant money expires in three years, North Platte hopes to get $200,000 more per year in state aid, based on current formulas.
Four-year-olds will have the first shot at the new schools, and if there is room, three-year-olds would be added, according to Kim Cooper, special services coordinator for the district. To qualify, children would have to live in homes with low-to-moderate incomes. The goal is to help children of families that can’t afford private preschools, but earn too much to qualify for the Head Start program.
Jefferson, Lincoln and Buffalo schools primarily serve the city's poorer areas. Nearly half the students at those three schools come from 'poverty-level' homes, according to estimates based on school lunch records.
Private preschools also offer free tuition
To keep options open for parents, about 10 private preschool operators plan to raise money to provide free and reduced-cost tuition at their schools, too. They want to give parents the chance to send young children to a private preschool if money is tight, said Stephanie Phye of Ladybug Crossing preschool. The tuition assistance program will be called Tuition Assistance for Preschoolers, or TAPS.
"If parents qualify, they will have the choice of preschools. I think we can raise the money and I think the community will support us," Phye has said. “We have come up with some really great fundraising ideas.”
"We are coming together," said Tina Mathieu, who directs the Learning Express preschool on the south side of I-80. "We are all working together."
Phye said there is room for nearly 100 more students in 10 locations next fall. That doesn't count faith-based preschools -- Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran or Christian. Overall, it costs less to operate a private than a public preschool. The public cost amounts to nearly $2,500 per child, compared to $1,500 per child for private preschools.
And, Mathieu says the Learning Express already helps families in need, sometimes waiving fees during a hardship.
If parents are having a hard time, we want to hear about it. We'll figure out ways to help. We are all struggling together. We struggle with high taxes and high gas prices. We're here for moms and dads, for families, not for the money," she said.
Mathieu became the director of the Learning Express two years ago. She and co-teacher Christy McKeeman, who has had children at the Learning Express for 10 years, teach preschoolers in the mornings and afternoons five days a week. They also take college classes in early childhood education.
Full article available at The North Platt Bulletin.