Preschool cuts openings

MARION -- The loss of a state grant two years ago still affects Tri-Rivers Career Center's preschool as the program plans to cut hours and the number of openings next school year. School officials said there will be 24 spots during the 2012-13 school year, down from 40 this year. Program director Kattie Harmon said the 24 spots filled within two weeks of the start of enrollment. The program will continue to be a full day, but hours will drop to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from this year's hours of 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. "Funding is the number one reason why," Harmon said. The cuts follow the 2011 closing of Amerikid Day Care School, which included a preschool program. These moves affect the availability of preschool in Marion County as agencies ranging from the United Way of Marion County to the National Institute for Early Education Research seek to increase preschool opportunities. Tri-Rivers' preschool program serves children ages 3 to 5. It has a dual purpose, providing a resource to the community and a learning lab for the career center's early childhood education students who help instructors. The program got a boost in 2006 thanks to an Early Learning Initiative grant. The grant used state-administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds to enable the center to offer free preschool to families whose gross monthly income fell within 165 percent of the poverty line. Families in between 165 and 185 percent qualified, but had to pay part of the cost. The 2010-11 state budget eliminated the grant. Harmon said there has been no new funding to fill the gap. Tri-Rivers Superintendent Chuck Speelman said the career center has made cuts such as changing how it prepares lunches for the program's students, but not cutting the number of openings until now. "We are willing to take somewhat of a loss," he said, but added that more cuts are needed to lessen that loss. "It is taxpayer money and there is a bottom line," he said. "We believe this is the best we can do with the budget we have." There will be other changes. Harmon will remain as director, but will also serve as an instructor next school year after the Tri-Rivers Board of Education voted to eliminate one of two instructor positions. The number of aides will drop from two to one. Harmon said there is a demand for preschool in the area, especially after Amerikid closed down in November. The ChildcareCenter.us website said Amerikid's capacity was 52, but did not specify how many of the spots were preschool and how many were day care. Other preschool programs remain, including the Ohio Heartland Community Action Commission's Head Start, a free income-based program. Several churches also offer programs. Students in Marion City Schools are eligible to attend the district's preschool program. Speelman said one feature that makes Tri-Rivers' program different is that it is a full-day program, while most of the other programs are part-day. Preschool has been in the focus in recent years, as educators say students are entering kindergarten without needed abilities such as recognizing alphabet letters and fine motor skills. A study by the nonpartisan National Institute for Early Education Research said Ohio's Early Childhood Education program, which serves 3- and 4-year-olds from families with incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty level, met only two of 10 benchmarks. The Associated Press reported the study found Ohio spent an average of $3,932 per student during the 2010-11 school year, below the national average of $4,151 per student in state-funded preschool programs in 39 states. Locally, the United Way's Value of Education Committee has made preschool a focus. Among goals is to develop an incentive program to help persuade low-income parents to send their children to preschool and to find ways to provide transportation to preschool programs.