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ROCORI reports preschool, childcare enrollment gains as board flags community-service fund shortfall
Summary
Director Brandy Thomas told the ROCORI School Board that preschool and childcare enrollment are rising, but the district's community-service fund is running close to budget and board members asked staff for a market analysis and expense review as the board approved a revised 2024-25 budget.
Brandy Thomas, director of community education for ROCORI Public School District, told the school board on April 21 that preschool and community child-care programs are seeing enrollment gains but the district's community-service fund is approaching its spending limit and requires further review.
Thomas said preschool enrollment is currently 133 and that changes made after a family needs assessment — including replacing under-enrolled half-day sections with all-day sessions — were quickly filled. She also reported that both KidCare and preschool programs earned a Parent Aware four-star rating, which is required to maintain certain scholarship funding.
The board heard details about other community-education offerings: a Latino family ECFE class funded by a United Way grant of $16,000 per year that supplies bilingual books and transportation; a Spanish-immersion ECFE class added this year; a new preschool prom that drew 90 attendees; and an expanded Big Truck Night (May 6) that will include a sensory-friendly first hour. Thomas said Spartan Spot and KidCare enrollments are trending up for the coming year and that summer contracts are already higher than the previous year.
Why it matters: ROCORI runs community-education programs to serve local families and to generate revenue to offset program administration. Jason Munson Biggers, a district manager, told the board the revised 2024-25 budget recognizes higher community-service revenues but also substantially higher expenses for those programs. The board must decide whether to accept program-level deficits, tighten costs, raise user fees, or use additional levy dollars to stabilize the fund.
Board discussion and staff direction
Munson Biggers presented the district's revised 2024-25 budget, saying general fund revenues and expenses each increased by about $525,000 compared with the adopted budget, producing a similar fund balance to earlier estimates. He said the district is recognizing $7.5 million in bond proceeds in the building construction fund and showed the detailed fund-level changes the board was being asked to approve.
On community education, Munson Biggers said the fund has received about 92% of adopted revenue through eight months of the year compared with 82% the prior year, but spending is tracking near 100% of budget compared with 80% the prior year. He pointed to timing mismatches in aquatics revenue and expenses, rising staffing costs and flat tuition rates for Spartan Spot and KidCare, and a longstanding operating loss for school-readiness preschool.
Thomas and staff were asked to return with a market analysis of comparable programs, a deeper review of staffing and expense drivers in Spartan Spot and KidCare, and options for modest, phased tuition increases if needed. The board also asked staff to estimate the tax impact if the district used part of the levy to support the community-service fund and to recommend how large, if any, that levy change would be.
Budget action
The board voted to approve the revised 2024-25 budget at the fund level. The motion to adopt the revised budget was made by Board Member Matt and seconded by Board Member Jennifer; the motion passed with all board members voting "aye." The revised budget shows an approximately $8.3 million increase on the revenue side (largely the $7.5 million bond) and about $3.8 million of increased expenses, including the construction expenses already incurred.
What the board asked for next
- A market analysis to compare KidCare, Spartan Spot and school-readiness tuition with neighboring districts and private providers. - A program-level expense review of Spartan Spot to identify causes of the increased expenses (including staff-to-student ratios and summer classroom capacity changes) and recommendations to tighten costs. - Clear accounting fixes to match revenue and expense timing in aquatics and other programs. - An estimate of the levy increase and the corresponding tax impact if the board elects to use levy dollars to support community education.
The board signaled it prefers preserving access for families where possible and to consider incremental tuition changes rather than steep, single-year increases; it also emphasized the need to demonstrate prudent expense management before asking taxpayers for any additional levy revenue.
Community context and key figures
- Preschool enrollment: 133 (current) - KidCare enrollment: 41 for next school year (trending upward) - Spartan Spot: reported growth to the mid-200s for summer programming and higher year-round enrollment compared with prior years - Parent Aware re-rating: preschool and KidCare each hold a four-star rating - United Way grant supporting Latino family ECFE: $16,000 per year
Ending
The district will present follow-up information to the board at or before the May meeting that includes the market analysis, preliminary expense-savings options for Spartan Spot, and levy scenarios to allow the board to weigh program access against taxpayer impact.
