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‘Big hit’: Daycare rates rise 8 to 21%
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · April 17, 2024
After seven months of reviewing its child care rates, the school district will increase those rates between 8 and 21 percent.
The West Branch Board of Education on April 8 unanimously approved the new rates at West Branch Early Learning Center and Kids Club after the administration cited increased operational costs.
“Unfortunately, we’re taking one big hit here,” Superintendent Marty Jimmerson said. “This is a significant increase, especially at the infant and 2-year-old (level).”
Those increased operational costs include granting benefits, like retirement and health insurance, to the daycare staff.
West Branch Community Schools’ administration recommended starting the new rates on July 1 for the daycare and the Kids Club summertime program. The only exception is the Kids Club before-and-after-school program; those rate increases begin Aug. 19.
The rate increases:
• For infants to 2-year-olds, the weekly rate will increase from $227.50 to $275, or an additional $47.50 per week. That amounts to a 20.9 percent increase.
• For 2-year-olds, the weekly rate increases from $213.50 to $235, an additional $21.50. That comes to a 10.1-percent increase.
• For 3-plus years old, the weekly rate increases from $207.50 to $225, or an additional $17.50. That comes to an 8.4-percent increase.
• For Kids Club’s weekly summer program, the rate increases from $175 to $190, a $15 bump. That comes to 8.6 percent more.
• For Kids Club’s before-and-after-school program, the rate increases from $75 to $90, a $15 increase. That comes to 20 percent more each week.
Board member Julie Sexton asked if the daycare offers discounts for families with more than one child.
“There are some discounts,” Jimmerson said. “But ... we have to rewrite what that looks like.”
Board President Greg Hetrick said he was not surprised by the recommendation.
“We have to give them benefits being part of a state organization,” he said. “We told them last year that rates were going to have to go up one way or another and, unfortunately, they didn’t raise the rates as much last year and we’re going to have to take a bigger hit this year. ... And, hopefully, this will give us a little something and going forward it won’t be so bad.”
Jimmerson wrote an April 8 memo to the board that touched on that same point.
“We understand that any change to rates can be concerning, and we want to assure parents that we have carefully considered the impact on our families,” he wrote. “We remain committed to providing affordable childcare options while maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety. We believe that these adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of our daycare center.”
Jimmerson said that giving benefits to daycare staff makes attracting and retaining people easier. Those benefits add about $8,500 per month to the daycare’s expenses.
He said the expenses are “quite a bit more” than current revenues, but raising rates to hold on to quality staff is worth it.
“As a parent, having that peace of mind is nice,” he said, adding that Director Lisa Moore told him the current staff “want to be there.”
Back in September, Jimmerson said the school district would spend four to six months reviewing the daycare’s operations before making any changes.
At the April 8 meeting, he called this rate increase “not ideal.”
Hetrick called the increase “bigger than, probably, we would like it to be.”
“It’s what we’re going to have to do,” he said.
Jimmerson said the school district is “not out there to try to make money.”
“We’re not trying to build this large surplus but we want to make sure we can handle emergency situations,” the superintendent said. “It’s time we have to do something and I think we have enough data to support it.”
A year ago, before the school district absorbed the WBELC, the daycare’s board of directors sent a letter to parents alerting them that rate increases would come “over a period of time instead of all at once,” Jimmerson wrote in the memo.
“If there would have been a bit larger rate increase last year, we wouldn’t have to make as big of an increase this year,” he said. “But, at the same time, we want to make sure we run ... in the black.”
That includes saving up for maintenance and repairs, the superintendent said.
Announcing the rate increases in April “gives the families time to plan,” Jimmerson said, since most do not start until July 1. The daycare was expected to send a letter to families last week.
The superintendent said he hopes that these increases will mean future rate increases are less dramatic.
“It’s easy for me to sit here and say it’s affordable, because I know it is going to impact families,” Jimmerson said. “But when you look at other early learning centers, we are definitely the least expensive by a long ways.”
Jimmerson said future rate increases will likely also happen on July 1 because that is when the administration would want to increase salaries.
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