Butler County residents will be paying more for Five-Star childcare.
Butler Board of Trustees members gathered Tuesday evening to hammer out details and vote on the exact amount EduCare rates should increase for the next school year.
“We have brought forward three options,” said Butler President Jackie Vietti.
The Board of Trustees work session on May 24 yielded additional questions concerning raising rates at the college’s EduCare facility and members postponed a final decision until June.
The college’s administration conjured three options for the Board to vote on which consist of a one dollar per day increase, $1.75 per day increase and $2.50 per day increase.
Each option presented also included a $5 per credit hour fee for select Early Childhood Education courses, a reduction of free days from 10 to five and a reduction of student discounts from 20 percent to 10 percent.
Board members scanned information provided by Galen Evans, accountant, and EduCare staff who compared the college’s facility with other comparable institutes locally and nationally.
The National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers conducted a survey with 314 respondents that showed 64 percent of the two year college centers functioned as combined centers and learning laboratories and typical center funding included four sources; parent fees at 50 percent, direct subsidies at 21 percent, in-kind donations from institutions at 10 percent and other sources like grants and fundraising at 19 percent.
Peer information was also provided and members were able to compare facts with Barton Community College, Hutchinson Community College and Johnson County Community College.
Butler serves more children than the other institutions.
Johnson County was the closest in-line with Butler serving 100-plus children and charges consisted of $34.80 for students and $40 for employees where Butler’s full rate was $29.50.
Board member Betty Corbin suggested the college look at aligning the facility with national norms.
“We need to emphasize more grants and private funding,” said Corbin.
Member Dalton Patterson agreed with Corbin’s suggestion.
“You know there are always grants out there,” said Patterson.
Corbin also suggested the EduCare staff should be directly involved in researching funding options like grants.
Corbin made a motion to pass option 2 – a $1.75 per day increase for EduCare.
Board member Greg Joyce seconded the motion and the increase carried unanimously.
The decision will have a rate increase annually per child of $429 and it’s estimated general fund support range based on elasticity of demand is $156,000 to $169,000.
EduCare serves a total of 104 children 77 of which are in El Dorado, two are from Andover, seven in Augusta, one in Cassoday, five in Douglass, one in Eureka, two in Leon, eight in Towanda and one from Park City.
El Dorado, Kan. —
