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Policy council recommends Yolanda Willis for Early Head Start director; board accepts March report and will forward candidate to federal office
Summary
Policy council voted to recommend Yolanda Willis as candidate for Burke County Early Head Start program director; the board accepted the March program report April 4. Final hiring requires board approval and Office of Head Start sign‑off before an offer can be made.
At the April 4 Burke County Board of Education meeting staff reported Early Head Start monthly operational data and presented a candidate recommended by the program’s policy council for the director’s position.
Miss Marie Reed, Early Head Start program representative, reported March 2025 enrollment and program metrics: funded enrollment of 94 children, average daily attendance of 87, eight children on the wait list, 30 children in transition, two pregnant women enrolled, health checks at 81 percent, immunizations at 100 percent, and meeting the program target of 10 percent enrollment of children with disabilities. Miss Reed also reported $21,679 in in‑kind contributions and included budget pages showing year‑to‑date spending at about 57 percent through the period presented.
Miss Reed told trustees that Policy Council interviewed candidates and voted to recommend Miss Yolanda Willis as the candidate for the Early Head Start program director position. Miss Reed said the Policy Council motion to recommend Willis was made by parent Stacey Richardson and seconded by parent Lucretia Brown.
A staff member explained the remaining approval steps: first, the governing board must accept the Policy Council recommendation; second, the recommendation is sent to the Office of Head Start, which must approve the candidate before a job offer can be made. "The Office of Head Start considers the director’s position a key position," a staff member said, and described the three-step process of Policy Council recommendation, governing-board approval and federal office approval.
The board voted to accept the March Early Head Start report. The transcript records the Policy Council recommendation and board acceptance of the program report; it does not record final board approval of the director candidate or the Office of Head Start decision.
Miss Reed also reminded trustees of annual governance training scheduled in May at the Early Head Start Center and said staff would provide food and other arrangements for the session.
Votes at a glance
- Policy Council motion to recommend Yolanda Willis as candidate for Early Head Start program director: Passed by Policy Council (motion recorded in Policy Council minutes). - Board motion to accept the Early Head Start March report: Passed (vote recorded as carried in meeting minutes).
