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Lebanon redevelopment commission approves $100,000 grant for school preschool, pending legal review
Summary
The Lebanon Redevelopment Commission voted to approve a $100,000 grant request to help lower preschool tuition and support a new 154-seat preschool program run by Lebanon Community School Corporation, contingent on legal review and ratification at the August meeting; one commissioner abstained.
The Lebanon Redevelopment Commission voted to approve the Lebanon Community School Corporation’s request for a $100,000 grant to support a new preschool before-and-after program, with the approval conditioned on legal review and formal ratification at the commission’s August meeting.
Dr. Milliman, representing Lebanon Community School Corporation, described the program’s two-site plan (main campus and two classrooms at Perryworth Elementary), a full capacity of 154 students (22 per classroom), and staffing that includes certified early-childhood teachers, paraprofessionals, a full-time principal and nurse. "We were respectfully requesting grant of a $100,000 this time," Dr. Milliman said.
Dr. Milliman laid out how the funds could be used flexibly to reduce tuition or to underwrite expanded before- and after-school hours, and offered a sample back-of-the-envelope calculation: if 20% of families used both before-and-after care at no cost, the additional expense would be roughly $60,000. He also described district fundraising and community support, noting a Class of 1970 sustaining donation of $50,000 and that the Lebanon Educational Foundation will house a preschool access fund.
Commissioners asked whether TIF funds could be used for childcare under a recent change to state law. Dr. Milliman quoted the new statutory language during the meeting: "Item l that was added was expend money or provide financial assistance, including grants or loans to entities for the purpose of encouraging or incentivizing the construction, expansion, or ongoing operation of childcare facilities that are in the allocation area or serving the allocation area." Commission counsel recommended memorializing any approval in a grant agreement, aligning the agreement with statutory language and completing a prompt legal review; counsel estimated a turnaround of two weeks or less for review.
After discussion, Commissioner (speaker 6) moved to approve the $100,000 request for the preschool program pending legal review and to ratify the grant documentation at the August meeting; the motion was seconded and carried when members verbally signified their support. The chair recorded that "Mister Parks abstains." The commission authorized staff and counsel to prepare a grant agreement consistent with the statute for later formal approval.
The preschool is scheduled to open in August, with a ribbon-cutting set for Aug. 4, and the school plans to report fund status twice yearly as required by its operating constraints.
