Okemos weighs future of Edgewood childcare: administration recommends trying targeted tuition increases and enrollment push

Okemos district leaders presented multiple options to address a growing shortfall in community education’s Edgewood early‑childhood and before/after‑school programs at the board’s Feb. 24 meeting and recommended the board allow administration to try a hybrid approach to restore sustainability.

Superintendent John Hood and Community Coordinator Christina Algeria (community coordinator) outlined how Edgewood’s low‑ratio infant/toddler rooms, a decline in school‑age before/after enrollment since COVID, rising staff wages and the loss of several one‑time revenue sources have combined to convert a previously positive community‑education net (2018–19) into a multi‑hundred thousand‑dollar deficit in recent years. Hood told trustees the district’s revised starting point for 2025–26 currently assumes about $1.8 million use of fund balance and highlighted specific program lines showing deficits, including infants/toddlers and before/after care. He emphasized the district is not required to provide community education but that it wants to find a sustainable model that does not draw down K–12 resources.

The administration presented four broad options: 1) maintain programming while spreading a tuition increase across most offerings (illustrative example: a 20% across‑the‑board increase with 75% classroom occupancy at Edgewood to reach…