Tuition rates for the Park City School District’s Pre-K program could rise next school year after the Utah Department of Workforce Services denied the district a grant that would have funded a third of expenses.
Business Administrator Todd Hauber, presenting the fiscal year 2022 budget to the Park City Board of Education at a meeting on Tuesday, said he was surprised by the denial of the grant last week.
The school district will now have to make up $100,000 this year and in future years.
“That was disappointing to receive that because it started as a social impact bond through United Way,” Hauber said. “And then the state took it over, and even at that time, they said, ‘oh, you're not qualified.’ ... We got that back on track, but now we've heard again we are now not eligible or not going to be receiving the funding."
Hauber said the grant would have accounted for a third of the program’s expenses.
"We've done our math calculations back in, if you recall, February and March,” he said. “We talked about increasing rates for the preschool program. A third of it is tuition-based, the rest was grants for these types of dollars."
Hauber estimates the state of Utah will still contribute about $1 million in revenues in FY 2022.
https://go.boarddocs.com/ut/pcsd/Board.NSF/files/C25HBY47C3CB/$file/FY22%20Budget%20Priorities.pdf
This year, the Park City School District received about $768,000 from the first federal coronavirus relief plan. The second Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program was for about $162,000. Hauber doesn't know how much the schools will receive from the third federal relief package, but he said they'll continue to work on other funding opportunities.
“The preschool is really based on the third-third-third,” he said. “A third [is covered by] tuition, a third grants and a third district support. This will throw us out of wack if we just pick up 100 percent of this, what you see a third. We'll keep working that way as we get into the budget discussions. Hopefully, we'll have a better answer.”
Providing universal Pre-K throughout the district's elementary schools, along with wrap-around services, was one of the top priorities the school district established during the master planning work over the past several years.
KPCW News reports on issues affecting children 0 through 3 years old are brought to you by the Early Childhood Fund at the Park City Community Foundation. For more information, visit earlychildhoodalliance.net.
