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District approves financial help for FamilyU program deficit

Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

The Luverne School Board approved an infusion of $21,000 to help cover a budget shortfall in the FamilyU child care program
The board met in special session Thursday night, Nov. 12, after a 45-minute board workshop about FamilyU finances.
Money will come from $5,000 moved over from Community Education, a $6,000 grant from the Southwest Initiative Foundation and $10,000 from the district’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The year-round child care program for kindergarten through fifth-grade students was financially stable prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which closed school facilities in March and changed how the FamilyU program could operate.
FamilyU was organized as an after-school and summer child care service in 2000.
“We always had a healthy fund balance for FamilyU,” said Community Education Director Lisa Nath. “We have always been self-sustaining until COVID happened.”
As an essential service, FamilyU added staff to reduce the normal one adult for every 15 children to a 1-to-7 ratio among the program’s 29 students.
The program also added a “runner” to its operations to assist with extra cleaning to prevent potential spread of the virus.
Increased staff and fewer children in the program tipped FamilyU’s financial scale to operate in the red.
Community Education, which operates youth and community programs for the school district, was made aware of the deficit last month by financial host Southwestern Minnesota Opportunity Council in Worthington.
In early February FamilyU had a positive fund balance of $17,540.
Since then, essential care costs of $5,179 plus $16,906 in added costs and lower child care enrollment left the program with a deficit of $4,545 as of Nov. 2.
Nath proposed an increase in fees to cover costs.
“It is hard because we never had to raise the fee that much before,” she said. “With FamilyU, the only income is from the kids that come.”
Under Nath’s proposal, hours for the three to four staff positions would be reduced weekly by 13 hours for a savings of $660, and snacks would be donated, saving an additional $50 per week.
Costs to families would increase from $22 per week to $30. Enrollment is based on 30 children per week.
The proposal would gain $240 a week and by April 1, 2021, the program would have a positive fund balance of $4,320.
Tuition scholarships would continue to be offered through the Child Guide Program for eligible families under the new proposal.
 
In the emergency board meeting, members also:
•adopted a district employee organizational chart, which maps out the chain of command and distribution of duties among the district’s principals and support services personnel.
One new position on the chart — buildings and ground superintendent — remains unfilled since the job posting opened earlier this year.
“We’ve had very little interest in that position at this point,” said Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
No action was taken as to the next steps for the filling or changing the requirements for the new position.
•canvassed the Nov. 3 election results, which added two new board members.
Shelley Sandbulte and Colleen Deutsch did not seek re-election. Tim Jarchow was re-elected to the board for another four years with 2,789 votes.
Elected to their first four-year terms that begin Jan. 1 were David Wrigg (2,019 votes) and Jeff Stratton (2,404). There were 103 write-ins for the three positions.

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