Coffee County committee: after-school attendance steady, district covers roughly half of costs; tutoring pilots expand

The Coffee County After School Program Committee reviewed early fall attendance and finances and discussed plans to expand small-group tutoring during a committee meeting; staff said parents must preregister and prepay for drop-in days and that the district currently makes up roughly half of program costs.

Committee chair Tonya Garner opened the meeting with an enrollment report showing higher-than-expected sign-ups at Hillsborough, New Union and North Coffee and lower participation at Deerfield. "So unless they tell us ahead of time, we don't have, like, drop in. They have to be registered ... So they do have to preregister and prepay," Garner said, explaining the program’s policy to ensure accurate staffing and planning.

The report also included payroll and revenue figures for August and September. Garner said, "I believe that the district put in a $122,000 this year," and that revenue from parents would likely be about 90 (not specified) for the year. Staff estimated that, on current enrollment and pricing, the program is near a roughly 50/50 split between parent payments and district subsidy: "It's costing the district about 50% of it, and they're paying for about 50% of it," Garner said.

Enrollment and operations: Site directors reported the largest regular attendance at Hillsborough, New Union and North Coffee; Deerfield has historically had the lowest attendance, a pattern staff attributed in part to limited transportation options. Several middle-school students are also attending some sites, and staff described how site directors assess maturity and behavior to determine whether older students continue to attend. Staff said they have not received substantive parent complaints two months into the school year.

Finances and costs: The committee reviewed monthly payroll for site directors, teachers and teacher assistants alongside parent revenue. Parents currently pay $5 per day and a $15 registration fee charged in August, which inflated that month's revenue. Staff said their monthly figures are kept in near-real time but are not to-the-penny. Clarifying figures discussed in the meeting include: district contribution of $122,000 (Garner's statement), an estimated break-even parent-payment level near $11 per day (staff estimate), and a one-year cost to add one teacher at a site estimated at about $8,000.

Tutoring pilot and staffing needs: Committee members reviewed a proposed small-group focused tutoring pilot at three schools (New Union, North Coffee and Hickerson). Staff estimated the total annual cost for the three pilots could be about $24,000 (staff noted that figure may be high because some positions do not exist yet). For September, staff reported $1,090 paid for two teachers and one teacher assistant who ran tutoring sessions; that expense was not charged to the regular after-school ("excellence") budget. Committee members said expanding tutoring or adding one teacher at each site would require additional funding and that an extra teacher could allow smaller, grade-focused groups that staff expect would improve student outcomes.

Grants and outside funding: Committee members discussed uncertainty around large federal grants that previously covered extensive program costs (referred to in the meeting as the "21st Century" funding stream). Staff cautioned against relying on that grant as certain and described pursuing multiple smaller grants and local funding sources instead. The committee noted local donors and foundations (including recurring small grants used for supplies or programming) as supplemental funding sources and suggested coordination with partners such as Volunteer Behavioral Health and Centerstone to support applications or programming.

Next steps and context: Staff recommended continuing the program at current staffing and pricing for now and tracking full-year costs to better define a five-year projection. Committee members said they will continue to monitor tutoring pilot results and seek grants and local funding to support expanded staffing or transportation; no formal motions or votes occurred during the meeting.

The committee adjourned after roughly a 45–50 minute discussion; staff said they will report back after a full year of data and as pilot-tutoring results become available.