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The Minot Head Start has been forced to cut staff positions and reduce the number of students that can be enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start this fall.
“This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to do,” said Head Start Director Karen Knowles, who will present to the Minot Public School Board at its meeting tonight at 4:30 p.m. in the Minot Public School District Administration Building. “Our goal was to serve more children, not less. The need is definitely in the community.”
Knowles said she did whatever she could to massage her budget before she decided to cut positions. The program renegotiated its sanitation costs and moved money from the family activity budget that had not been fully used over to a fund to cover healthcare. It still wasn’t enough.
Knowles said health insurance costs went up 10.4 percent during this past year and is projected to go up another 6.9 percent this coming school year.
As a result, she laid off a family service worker and the entire staff at the Head Start classroom in Mohall, closing the program there. She also was forced to cut hours for a couple of employees, changing their positions from 12 month to 10 month positions. In addition, she eliminated some classroom slots at the Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Minot.
“The families in Mohall were aware of it,” said Knowles. “We were losing classroom space (there) because of the (elementary in) Sherwood closing.”
The MLS-Mohall School District needed classrooms formerly used by the Head Start program and had notified the Head Start program that they might not be able to use classrooms there next year.
“Families were aware,” said Knowles. “They didn’t like it.”
Eight home visitor slots are also being lost, but Knowles said there are other support agencies at Minot Air Force Base that aren’t available in Minot.
“We’ll take 10 less children in town, but they’ll be on a waiting list,” said Knowles. “Using our priorities in the way we select children and the (rate of) turnover that we have, they’ll still get in eventually.”
Knowles said a number of the families served by Head Start are transient and move frequently.
However, Knowles said she continues to see a need for Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Minot. The programs serve many families that are low income or kids who are at risk, as well as other children.
Knowles said she has seen an increased need for mental health services in Head Start classrooms. Some of the children come from families that are under economic stress or from families where there are substance abuse issues. There are also differing family dynamics.
Knowles will also seek the board’s permission to write a grant that will help fund extended Head Start hours in the 2017-2018 school year. The Head Start day would be expanded from 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours per day and an extra week would be added to the school year. Knowles said the extended year would be in line with changing standards for Head Start at the national level.
Knowles will also be talking to the school board about a cost of living allocation for Head Start and Early Head Start staff.
Knowles said the program has received regular federal funding for the coming year.
She said she has heard of other Head Start programs are also having to lay off staff or reduce student numbers due to the health insurance increase.