Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood Care topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Manning Child Care Center requests FY26 funds; board to decide on Feb. 20
Summary
Manning Child Care Center requested county funding for FY26, saying it serves 88 of 108 licensed slots, has 27 full-time staff and 5 seasonal employees, and has a sizable waitlist for infants. The board said it will consider the request at its Feb. 20 meeting and suggested favoring project-based, sustainable funding.
Representatives of the Manning Child Care Center asked Carroll County supervisors Tuesday for FY26 funding to help keep operations and staffing sustainable and to support capital needs, such as playground tile replacement.
Sarah Dahlgren, director of Manning Child Care Center, and assistant director Paige Reynolds told supervisors the center is licensed for 108 children and currently has 88 enrolled. The center reported 27 full-time employees and five seasonal employees; staff said they are intentionally keeping one room vacant because its layout is not suitable as a classroom. Dahlgren said the center maintains a waiting list of about 27 infants but currently can accept only 12 of those from existing families.
On past county support, staff said the center received $14,500 in the previous year. During the discussion, supervisors and center staff discussed potential award size; one supervisor suggested leaning toward project-based funding so county dollars create sustainable improvements rather than ongoing operating subsidies. Dahlgren said part of their request could support playground tile replacement and help the center avoid increasing tuition for families. "These funds would just go towards our everyday expenses that... would be absorbing some of that fall down," Dahlgren said when describing operating pressures and recent rate increases; she noted the current infant tuition is $210 per week.
Supervisors asked whether the center had pursued funding from adjacent counties; staff said they had not requested Crawford County or other partners and that most families are in-county, with a few from nearby towns. The board said it would make a decision at its Feb. 20 meeting and requested the center provide financial documentation to county staff for review prior to that decision.
Why it matters: the childcare center serves workforce families and reports capacity and staffing pressures; county support would help maintain slots and possibly fund capital upgrades to expand usable capacity.
