Board approves Onslow County Head Start grant application, approves change in scope to add mental-health support and reduce slots

The Onslow County Board of Education voted to approve the 2025–26 Head Start grant application and a related change in scope for the Head Start program.

Ms. Davis, who presented elements of the Head Start application, told the board the Office of Head Start requires a five-year planning cycle and regular federal monitoring reviews. She said the district’s proposal maintains a site-based service model for preschool-aged children and requests a total grant award of $2,369,969 for the 2025–26 school year. The application detailed program goals, a cost-allocation plan, training and technical assistance funds and a selection-criteria matrix for enrollment.

Ms. Davis said the program proposed serving 230 Head Start–eligible children across 28 classrooms and that Head Start slots must include a minimum of 10% of children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs); she said the district typically serves 15–20% of Head Start children with IEPs. The grant narrative and budget justification also allocate funds for personnel, curriculum materials, transportation waivers and training; the training-and-technical-assistance allocation for 2025–26 was listed as $24,354 in the board documents.

Board members voted to approve the Head Start grant application inclusive of the budget, cost allocation plan and related documents. The board vote on the grant application was 6 in favor and 1 opposed. Ms. Davis told the board that the Head Start Policy Council — the parent/community advisory body that must also approve grant documents — had been briefed on the materials and would consider approval at its upcoming meeting; final submission to the federal Office of Head Start also requires Policy Council approval.

District staff also asked the board to approve a change in scope beginning with the 2025–26 year. Ms. Davis said the district proposed a reduction in Head Start slot enrollments, closure of three preschool classrooms and a reduction in teaching staff, balanced by the addition of a full-time mental health consultant. She said the change in scope was prompted in part by updated Head Start program-performance standards and an identified local need for expanded mental-health services. The board approved the change in scope; the meeting record did not include a roll-call tally for that specific motion, but the chair announced the motion carried.

Board members asked clarifying questions about Policy Council membership and roles; Ms. Davis explained the Policy Council must be composed of at least 51% currently enrolled Head Start parents and that board liaisons attend as nonvoting members to facilitate communication. No further action was recorded at the meeting; Ms. Davis said both the governing board and the Policy Council must approve grant documents before the district can submit to the Office of Head Start for federal review.