By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Expectations for a new daycare center in Hoisington were running high after Advancing Barton County Childcare (ABCC) received a $2.23 million grant from the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund Child Care Capacity Accelerator in June 2023. Groundbreaking for the Hoisington center was expected to follow a year later. USD 431 Superintendent Patrick Crowdis continued the conversation about the proposed center during Monday's board of education meeting.
"On our project, we've ran into hurdle after hurdle in terms of surveying the site, getting an address, rezoning the site that is outside the exemptions that normal schools have," he said. "The idea was to break ground in June. We're obviously past June. There is still a plan to break ground. The ABCC group as a whole has agreed we still do want to pursue the Hoisington daycare."
But, there are some issues. Crowdis said the plan is still to construct a facility that will house 38-45 kids, but now additional funding will likely be needed.
"In terms of grant money, from the breaking ground of the Great Bend facility to when the Great Bend facility opened, through different legislative things that took place, about $500,000 of grant money was actually pulled back, not because of anything the daycare did but because there was some legislation that changed," Crowdis said. "So there is a need to support the financial cost of the facility."
One concern with the Bright Beginnings facility in Great Bend is that is it not filled to capacity. The opening of USD 428's new Little Panthers Preschool and the number of infants at Bright Beginnings have likely played a role. USD 431 Board Member Julia Debes said the Great Bend and Hoisington projects should not be directly compared.
"I will admit, I'm very frustrated we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison with Great Bend when the situations are very different," she said. "One, this is the school district system. Two, their daycare facility is not attached to a school. Ours is attached to a school that does have a preschool program for 3-4 year olds."
Debes confirmed with Crowdis that the land-use agreement the USD 431 Board approved last month has yet to be signed by ABCC. She said several details need to be ironed out before the district asks the community for financial support.
"I think before we have meetings asking for money from the community, we need to have a signed agreement with that organization," she said. "Also, with that, I would want to see detailed at that meeting or coming to present to the board the breakdown of the grant funding that was designated for non-Great Bend daycares."
In 2022, the Barton County Commission pledged $435,000 to assist with the development of childcare centers in the county. Debes encouraged Crowdis to invite commissioners to a future meeting.
"I don't think it's fair to ask anyone for financial donations when we don't even have a signed agreement and we were supposed to break ground last June," she said.
The board took no action on the matter Monday night.