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District moves Quest drop‑ins to fixed day contracts and modest price adjustments to meet new licensing ratios
Summary
Catawba County Schools proposed replacing drop‑in after‑school billing with three contract tiers (5‑day, 3‑day, 1‑day), small price increases for contract families and a staff discount for employees, intended to stabilize staffing and meet new state child‑care staff‑to‑student ratios.
The Catawba County Board of Education heard a proposal on May 18 to change the billing structure for Quest, the district’s school‑aged child‑care program. Erin Gates told the board that new licensing requires different staff‑to‑child ratios (1:20 for ages 6–12; 1:15 for 5‑year‑olds) and that replacing the current unpredictable drop‑in model with fixed contracts will help the program meet those ratios while preserving family flexibility.
Gates proposed three contract tiers: a 5‑day contract, a 3‑day contract and a 1‑day contract. The district would apply modest price increases for contract families to support additional staffing; employees would continue to receive before‑school care free and receive reduced after‑school rates ($30 for classified staff, $35 for certified employees). Gates said the change will reduce manual billing work for site coordinators, provide predictable weekly charges for parents and allow the district to set firm daily maximums to avoid ratio violations.
Board members asked how the staffing changes would affect enrollment; Gates said with the planned staffing increases the program should maintain similar enrollment levels but avoid surprise spikes that can breach ratios. The board approved the Quest pricing and billing procedure proposal unanimously.
