SPRINGDALE -- The School Board last week unanimously approved spending roughly $4.25 million to purchase the building at 866 S. 48th St., but the deal won't disrupt services at the district's After School Program, which is housed there.
Jennifer Tucker, executive vice president of the After School Program, said operations will continue as normal, adding she wanted to make sure those in the community with concerns were informed.
The After School Program operates at remote locations in the Springdale School District and at the LISA Academy charter school, Tucker said.
The After School Program serves 1,100 students up to 13 years of age from 3-6 p.m. daily Monday through Friday, said Tucker, who's been with the program for 30 years.
"We say 3 to 6," Tucker said. "It's the time school dismisses until 6 o'clock."
The 48th Street building serves as the program's headquarters, so selling it just means the headquarters itself will relocate, she said.
Buying the approximately 21,000-square-foot facility allows the School District to move its Perry Professional Development Center operations to 48th Street, closer to the middle of the city, Superintendent Jared Cleveland said at the School Board meeting. The Professional Development Center is at 1457 E. Robinson Ave.
Cleveland said the 48th Street purchase could also provide an opportunity to "build, construct or create" a birth to age 3 child care program for the district staff.
Cleveland noted it's difficult to recruit and retain teachers and that child care is a real need for them.
"We do have high quality child care in our region," Cleveland said.
But having a facility within the district itself could help with recruitment and retention, he said. The nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families estimated the average annual cost of center-based toddler care in the state at $6,806.
The district could sell the Professional Development Center building on Robinson Avenue and maybe 30 or so acres of property on Don Tyson Boulevard, generating additional funds, Cleveland said.
The School District bought the 12,000-square-foot Professional Development Building in 2012 for $675,000, then embarked on an extensive renovation project to make the building fit the district's needs at a cost of over $100,000.
Kevin Ownbey, a School Board member, making clear he wasn't trying to undercut the child care options available in Springdale, said an in-district facility could make it attractive for teachers to work in the district.
"The thought is, maybe we can help," Cleveland said. "It's not anything we can guarantee. But we can certainly explore that."
Cleveland said when he was superintendent of the Magazine School District, it had a birth to 3 program that provided a great service for the teachers, and the Arkansas Department of Human Services helped create the program.
Springdale is in the exploratory phase and processing potential options, said Trent Jones, district communications director.
AROUND THE AREA
Rogers has often discussed adding child care as an option for its staff, said Jason Ivester, the district's communications director. The district is still exploring economically viable options, he said.
"We know and understand that the expense of child care is a big part of a staff member's choosing where they work," Ivester said.
The district opened spots in its prekindergarten program for staffers to provide some relief, Ivester added.
In March, the Bentonville School Board unanimously approved a recommendation to create a child care center for in-district employees.
All staff members received an October survey to gauge their need for child care, according to a presentation at the March board meeting by Tanya Sharp, the district's chief operating officer. Bentonville officials visited schools in three Oklahoma cities -- Edmond, Piedmont and Putnam City -- to see child care programs there, Sharp said.
Sharp noted the district isn't looking to make a profit on the program.
In comparing costs, she said district officials looked at 13 child care facilities in the area.
The board's approval cleared the way for the district to move forward with staffing and implementation costs for the program.