Gillum County approves $366,000 operational grant for Condon Early Learning Center, requires quarterly reports

The Gillum County Court on June 4 approved $366,000 in operational support for the Condon Early Learning Center (CELC), with the court requiring quarterly reporting and assigning a commissioner as a county liaison.

The court voted to fund the operational request during its regular meeting after a lengthy work-session discussion that included public comment from local residents and a detailed back-and-forth with the center's director about staffing, an expansion plan and long-term sustainability.

Why it matters: Court members and several public speakers framed the vote as a response to a countywide childcare shortage and the impending sunset of state-local SIP funds that have helped sustain local providers. Court members said the county must balance support for the center with planning for countywide needs and for an eventual endowment to provide long-term stability.

Public comment opened with local resident Catherine Breiner, who said she would submit a letter in support and described the long-standing local need for certified childcare. “When you have a certified child care center, you have other people that if you are having a bad day, someone else can step in,” Breiner said, recounting a personal case she called illustrative of why certified centers matter.

Amanda Richardson, a parent who said she had used the center for several years, told the court, “Childcare in the state of Oregon is a pandemic right now. It’s awful everywhere.” She described wait lists for state subsidy programs and urged continued county support so parents can work.

Court members pressed the CELC director and staff for more recent financial detail and clarity on terms used in the center’s sustainability plan. The director (name not specified in the meeting transcript) said the center has experienced staff turnover and that roughly half the organization’s expenses are staffing-related; she also described an expansion plan that had earlier settled on a construction bid in the neighborhood of $2.5 million.

County staff noted the county’s grant structure: the court had $1,000,000 in the operational support pot and $2,000,000 in capital investment grants in the same overall economic enhancement fund. During the work session Judge (Gillum County Court) and Commissioner Watkins expressed interest in avoiding repeated year-to-year emergency funding requests and discussed developing a county-controlled endowment to generate stable, long-term support. The court discussed possible conditions of award—regular reporting, a fundraising plan and engagement with other local partners—before voting.

The motion to approve $366,000 in FY26 operational support for CELC passed unanimously. The court agreed the award could be funded by reallocating from the capital investment portion of the economic enhancement fund if necessary. Commissioner Wilkins agreed to serve as the court’s liaison and to meet with the center to track implementation and follow-up on agreed conditions.

Background and next steps: The application had been tabled at a prior meeting so the grant and the economic enhancement ordinance could be discussed together. The court and the center referenced a Kelly Nonprofit Consulting sustainability review that the center provided as part of its application. Court members said they want more up-to-date financial statements and a clearer multi-year plan before committing to ongoing operational support beyond the award approved June 4. The judge also reported ongoing outreach to a solar company negotiating a payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement and said she proposed (not guaranteed) that community service funding from that agreement could include an allocation for local childcare centers.

The county directed quarterly reporting from CELC and requested that the liaison convene periodic check-ins so the court and the center can collaborate on timelines (for expansion, after‑school programming and staffing) and on conditions tied to the award.

Votes at the meeting: The court’s motion to approve the CELC operational support grant in the amount of $366,000 passed unanimously. The court recorded the award amount and the reporting condition in the motion record.

The Condon Early Learning Center director and staff confirmed they will provide the updated financials the court requested and will work with the liaison on a schedule of quarterly updates.