Leaders discuss pre-k

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What’s next when it comes to improving early childhood education in Jay County?

“I speak to you only of possibilities,” Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley said Tuesday at a 20/20 Vision summit session on the issue.

Gulley, whose primary focus in recent months has been on getting the school corporation’s fiscal house in order, sketched out a new vision that would incorporate preschool education, day care and a parental resource center under a single roof.

“I do not speak for anyone but me,” Gulley cautioned.

But he asked those on hand at the concluding meeting of a series of community listening sessions on the issue to imagine “a place where we brought pre-school and day care together. … Think about the possibilities of that. … We could potentially have a facility (available) for such use.”

Gulley, noting that the future of Judge Haynes Elementary School will be decided by the end of 2017 as the school corporation struggles to bring its general fund spending under control, said the building could find a new use as the home of an early childhood education center.

“This seems like an emerging possibility,” he said.

Efforts over the past several years to address the shortcomings in the area of day care and early childhood education have foundered on the question of where such a facility could be located. At one point, those exploring grant opportunities had targeted the former supermarket location that is now the home of The Rock church. At another point, the former Garfield School building, now the home of MyFarms, was considered a possibility.

Tuesday’s discussion was the culmination of a month-long series of meetings sponsored by The Portland Foundation in conjunction with the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University and the Indiana Youth Institute.

Those involved in the Jay County Vision 20/20 had identified early childhood education as a critical concern, based upon the high level of local childhood poverty, the lack of access to affordable, high-quality childcare and ongoing concerns about opioid abuse in the county.

“This is very preliminary, but I walked away convinced that there is a greater need than the resources we’re providing (in terms of pre-school education and day care),” said Gulley. “There is a gap. … A lot of young ones are not getting the support they need.”

According to Indiana Youth Institute, about 27 percent of Jay County children live in poverty and 62 percent of Jay County kids are in need of care during the day.

But even when child care is available, it is often unaffordable.

Indiana Youth Institute estimates the average annual cost for high quality child care at $5,928.

“Working families cannot afford it, and the capacity is not there,” Gulley said.

Any effort to move forward to address the issue would have to be broad-based, participants in the sessions said. Jay Schools, non-profit organizations such as the Youth Service Bureau and local employers would have to partner to get it done.

“No one of us can do this alone,” said Gulley. “Do not expect the school corporation to solve this. … I do think it’s eventually going to need a coordinator. I’m not adding staff at Jay Schools. I think you can read that in the newspaper.”

Ball State facilitators indicated the county is on the right track.

“There are a lot of you working really hard in the right direction,” said Geoff Schomacker of the Indiana Communities Institute. “Not every county is doing what Jay County is doing. … Keep going. Follow this road map.”

Those interested in participating in this effort should contact The Portland Foundation.