Bus service cut for Grant Co. Head Start program
The Family Services of Grant County will eliminate its bus service for Head Start students because of federal budget cuts, officials say.
MOSES LAKE - The Head Start program operated by Grant County Family Services will eliminate its transportation service because of funding cuts. The Head Start classroom operated by the agency in Grand Coulee also will be closed.
Classes for 3- and 4-year-olds will begin Sept. 17, Sally Gundry, the organization's executive director, said.
Gundry said Family Services of Grant County lost $146,826 in funding, about 5.2 percent of its budget. The organization isn't required to provide transportation, Gundry said, and that's one reason the board of directors decided to eliminate bus service. The organization employs about 65 people; 13 people were laid off as part of the cuts, she said.
It would've been necessary to cut another class to save the transportation program, she said. The cuts are tied to the federal budget sequester, she said, and will be permanent.
Head Start officials don't like the idea of asking parents to find transportation for their children, especially parents who don't have a car. But in the end it came down to the bus service or another class, she said.
Grant County Family Services is a private, nonprofit organization that operates Head Start classrooms in Ephrata and Soap Lake as well as Moses Lake. The funding cuts reduced the allowed enrollment from 153 children countywide to 144 children, Gundry said. The separate program for infants and toddlers has room for 94 children, she said.
Enrollment was reallocated to allow 18 children in each classroom at the three remaining sites, she said, up from 17 per classroom.
Preschool classes meet four days per week, 3.5 hours per day, she said. There are also home visits, and "a lot of work done with parents," Gundry said.
Parents receive training and support, she said, and counselors meet regularly with them. Along with the board of directors, the program is governed by a parent council, she said.
Children in the Head Start program receive age-appropriate instruction, Gundry said, and a number of other services. Employees track immunizations, check for exposure to lead and screen for some conditions. The goal is to make sure children are healthy and have the skills they need to succeed in kindergarten, she said.