TRCC child care hike questioned

POPLAR BLUFF--A small group of concerned parents questioned the scheduled hike in the cost of services provided at the Early Childhood Learning Center of Three Rivers Community College.

"There seems to be a lot of quick action and not a lot of exploration," Keith French said during an informational meeting held on campus Tuesday. "The board swooped it in, and they can it out."

The Three Rivers Board of Trustees voted during the November meeting to eliminate the hourly and daily rates for child care and instead require clients, both students and community members, to sign a semester-long contract in hopes that the center will no longer be under-subscribed.

Dr. Wes Payne, Three Rivers vice president for learning, explained that college officials studied different options, including evening and weekend child care programs, but discovered that even more money would be lost and a different type of license would have to be obtained.

"I don't like the implication that there was no thought put into this decision," Payne said.

"It feels that way to us," replied Shane Barnes, who was present with his wife Shannon and 3-year-old daughter Zoe. Barnes explained that his fees will go from $22 to $50 per week beginning with the spring semester when the new rates take effect.

The hourly rate of $2.15 for up to five hours and the daily rate of $14 will be replaced by a cost of $75 for a full week, $50 per three-day slot and $30 for two days, with a 10 percent discount for families with multiple children enrolled. The $15 enrollment fee due each semester will be called a supply fee and $5

The last increase was five years ago, according to Cindy Howell, ECLC director. When the center opened in 2000, the daily rate was $12 and the hourly rate has remained unchanged.

Six clients were absent due to illness earlier in the day, Howell said, displaying how appropriate staffing could be difficult. By law, one staff member is required per eight children. The center has two full-time and six part-time employees, plus two work study students.

Besides child care services, the center also provides hands-on learning opportunities for students in degree programs including early childhood, basic and child psychology, child literature and art for elementary.

French, an attorney in private practice, suggested that negligent accounting practices in operating the center were being taken out on parents. He brought up that the state audit released in July cited the college for apparently failing to collect more than $39,000 in aid through the Missouri Child Care Assistance Program between 2005 and 2008, which has since been corrected through online billing, according to Howell.

The same report also stated that during that time frame, Three Rivers lost more than $200,000 on the ECLC, and Missouri Auditor Susan Montee recommended that the college perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the operation of the facility was justified.

Three Rivers is now losing $82,000 to $105,000 per year on the child care center, Payne said. With the new plan, the vice president projected, the college would only have to supplement the service by $30,000 to $35,000.

"The deficit compared to the overall debt surely couldn't be very high, and an argument could be made that a certain level of loss here should be tolerable, or it is simply another day care center," French said. "There has to be other areas where you can trim the fat."

Payne responded: "They're all being looked at, I assure you."

Barnes suggested that the board put off the increase until next fall semester.

"You have us grabbed," he said, explaining that other day cares in the area have three to six month waiting lists.

Other complaints parents have raised, Howell noted, are that some only send their children for a half day and others drop their classes and do not want to pay for child care they no longer would use.

"We are more than open to alternative views and re-examining things," Payne said. He added that a provision could always be made for people to exit the agreement under special circumstances.

The new price will still be the lowest tier among day cares in the surrounding area, Payne said. He pointed out that St. Louis Community College made a decision last month to close two of its three day care centers as higher education institutions are reducing auxiliary services and focusing on core missions while facing budget cuts during the recession.

Out of about 3,600 students at Three Rivers, 43 with toddlers, use the child care.

"It's a big benefit to their lives," Payne said. "But in terms of the overall impact of how we spend money, is it the wisest?"