Day care proposed at Austintown schools]

Austintown chief plans option to help parents

By ELISE FRANCO

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

AUSTINTOWN — An answer may be coming for parents having trouble finding someone to care for their children.

The school district has proposed pairing with Wee Care Day Care to organize a before- and after-school day-care program for students in Watson, Lloyd, Lynn Kirk and Woodside elementary schools and Frank Ohl Intermediate School.

Austintown Superintendent Doug Heuer said the program, which will run through the 2009-10 school year, will allow parents to drop their children off at 6:30 a.m. and be assured the child will be cared for until the school day begins.

He said the same service will also be provided after school until 6 p.m.

Heuer said the board of education will vote on whether to approve the proposal during Tuesday night’s board meeting at Austintown Middle School.

“It’s particularly good for a great many families who have irregular job situations,” he said. “It’s hard to make arrangements for day care, and this allows a very accessible environment.”

The program will cost the school and taxpayers nothing because parents who choose to enroll their children will pay directly to Wee Care, Heuer said.

He said definitive rates haven’t been settled upon, but the fee structure will be per hour.

“It’ll be based on the number of hours your child is there, and you can sign up for morning, afternoon or both,” he said. “Basically, I know they’re going to have a sliding scale, so if you have a second child in the program, the rate will be less, and it will be reduced even further for the third child.”

Heuer said a day-care program is something the district has been thinking about for a while.

“We realized it’s sometimes difficult to transport your child when parents have to be at work,” he said. “This expands their time to get their child to the site and still get to work on time.”

Heuer said Wee Care will provide all the services necessary, and the five schools will simply act as a host.

Kim Smrek, Wee Care’s chief financial officer, agreed that providing this service at Austintown elementary schools is necessary.

“The number of single parents or two parents working outside the home has increased,” she said. “I think there’s a big void right now, and a partnership with Austintown could fill that void.”

Smrek said children will have several activities to keep them occupied, including a homework station.

“I think that one, in particular, will help a lot of parents who have a lot to do at the end of the day,” she said.

Heuer said Wee Care Day Care was chosen unanimously by the building principals over five other proposals.

“We’re partnering with them because after reviewing several programs, we found that they provide a high-quality program,” he said. “It’s a benefit to parents and children to have this kind of service readily available at each building site.”

Smrek said Wee Care will establish two care providers at each building site — more than mandated by the state.

“I will always have two staff workers there,” she said. “It’s just for safety for everybody involved.”

Wee Care Day Care has five area locations in Youngstown, Boardman and Howland.

efranco@vindy.com