Rexburg high school may lose day care
Sunday, September 14, 2008 12:24 AM PDT
REXBURG (AP) — Free day care for teenage mothers at Central High School in this southeast Idaho town may be eliminated because of the loss of a grant. Carla Hill operates the nursery and her position is in jeopardy following the loss of funds from the Safe and Drug Free Schools program, which operates at the state and federal levels. The program is designed to prevent drug abuse and violence and to promote a positive learning environment for students before, during and after school.
Madison School District administrators are looking for alternative funding to keep the day care open.
operating for the rest of the year, Superintendent Geoffrey Thomas said.
‘‘We’re very supportive. It’s been very valuable to us,’’ Thomas told the Rexburg Standard Journal. ‘‘We’re aggressively seeking additional funding.’’
As many as five children at a time are in the nursery while their mothers are attending class, school Principal Rex Fullmer said. The day care was used by two teens who graduated earlier this year.
‘‘Several students in the past year couldn’t have afforded a private day care,’’ Fullmer said.
No children are enrolled in the day care program now, removing some of the urgency for replacement funding, but that’s unusual and normally there are several children in the nursery, Fullmer said.
Without the grant money, the school has agreed to pay for Hill to remain on staff while the district tries to secure replacement funding.
‘‘We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to continue it the next several years or however long we can continue,’’ Fullmer said. ‘‘It’s a good program.’’
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Information from: Standard Journal, http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/
