By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Bobby Murphy is hitting the ground running in USD 112. The new Central Plains superintendent was hired in January but officially took over the job on July 1. The district is hosting an informational meeting about future childcare opportunities on Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m. at the Holyrood American Legion, 416 N. Main St.
"Our board of education and our administrative teams, as well as other community organizations in Holyrood and Claflin, know how important this childcare component is for retaining young families in these rural communities, but also enticing new families as well," Murphy said. "We have this at the top of our list moving forward as something that we really find as a high need for our community."
Murphy and retired USD 112 Superintendent Bill Lowry were among a group that began looking at the possibility of providing childcare last spring. The hope is to provide up to 20 childcare slots at a location in Holyrood.
"Our hope is that we can have something open for our communities late summer or early fall," said Murphy. "We're just going to discuss the path moving forward and what our community members can do to help us along the way. We're still in the application and licensure process, but we're hopeful we can have two childcare group homes open really early fall or late summer to provide, hopefully, 10 slots each."
The district continues to work with the childcare licensing department in Barton County as well as community members and organizations within the district to finalize the project. The exact number of childcare slots will not be known until licensing and inspections are complete.