Rochester board votes 4-3 to end infant and toddler care at Caring Steps, asks administration for business plan

The Rochester Community Schools Board of Education voted 4–3 on March 17 to discontinue infant and toddler rooms at the district'run Caring Steps Child Center effective July 30, 2025. Trustees also asked administration to produce a detailed business plan and staffing recommendations for a reconfigured early‑childhood program by May 14, 2025.

Board members heard a 40‑minute staff presentation and community testimony before the vote. Superintendent Russo and district staff outlined seven years of shortfalls at Caring Steps, a director vacancy that has lasted more than a year and a set of financial scenarios showing which combinations of pay, staffing model and tuition would break even or produce a deficit.

The board was shown a previously approved budget amendment transferring $265,904 from the general fund to support Caring Steps operations for the remainder of the fiscal year. District staff noted that federal Child Care Stabilization grants and other temporary supports helped the program approach profitability at times but that projected financial results had not been met. A community survey conducted in May 2024 was presented to show family preferences on meal service, hours and full‑time enrollment.

District fiscal staff and administrators described…