USD 253 Emporia’s childcare program will be continuing through the end of the year; however, hopes that it could continue beyond that point have not materialized.
During the USD 253 Board of Education’s regular meeting Wednesday evening, it was announced that the district had not obtained a grant sought by the program’s prior director and families utilizing the service. USD 253 Superintendent Dr. David McGehee says, given this development, the district will honor its agreement to maintain the program through the end of the upcoming fall semester, but it will definitely come to an end after that time.
Given families have plenty of notice ahead of the program’s end, he feels they will have plenty of time to find alternative childcare options before it comes to an end next year. That said, he does have a concern as to the sustainability of the program through the end of the calendar year.
The end of the program comes as part of the district’s $4 million cost containment efforts in response to a notable decline in enrollment in recent years. Also included in the cost containment efforts is the recently approved closure of Logan Avenue Elementary School, a matter that is currently in the midst of a 60-day protest period following a 5-2 vote by board members last month.
In other business Wednesday, board members approved a memorandum of understanding with ESSDACK to provide 6th through 12th-grade students with a virtual learning resource. District leadership emphasized this is not meant to be an alternative option for all students, but a resource for two specific groups:
Students utilizing virtual learning or homeschooling
Students who have experienced suspensions and have exhausted all other options for traditional learning.
According to McGehee, the virtual option could have several benefits for the district, including acting as a potential “recruitment tool” for students not currently in a “brick and mortar” setting.
He also says it sends an important message to those students who have run into “roadblocks” either through their personal choices or a failure to adapt to the traditional learning environment that the district will not simply “turn their back on them.”
Per the MOU, the district will be responsible for the following:
Enrolling and maintaining education records for virtual students.
Reporting and collecting funding from the State of Kansas for virtual students.
Administering Special Education services.
Providing counselors for virtual students.
Engaging in weekly communication with the ESSDACK program director.
Working with secondary students and the ESSDACK program director to maintain an individual Plan of Study (IPS) and include the communication log.
Compensating ESSDACK for the FTE captured during the official student count period established by KSDE.
Compensating ESSDACK for each student that enrolls and attends the Virtual Program if the number of students being served exceeds the FTE captured during the student
count period, based on the following:
Transporting students for community engagement events twice a year.
Remitting payment to ESSDACK within 30 days of receiving a bill.
Meanwhile, ESSDACK will be responsible for providing the virtual curriculum and all certified staff, Chromebooks for virtual students, maintaining attendance records of students, weekly communication with district staff and district parents on student progress, just to name a few.
Also, per the agreement, ESSDACK will receive 65 percent of the funding for each virtual student while the district receives 35 percent. The virtual resource is scheduled to go into effect next year.
Additional details from Wednesday’s meeting can be found under the Boardocs tab on the district’s website, USD253.org. The USD 253 Board of Education will reconvene on Wednesday, June 10th, at 6 pm inside the Mary Herbert Education Center for its regular monthly meeting.
