School Board eyes fees for facility use

By Susan Gibbs, Record Reporter
Published: July 24, 2008

Greene County’s Enrichment Program started out in 1991 as a grassroots effort to give Greene’s latchkey children a place to go.
Now the School Board is placing the Enrichment Program, along with others that use its facilities, under its microscope.
“We are revising our policy on community use of school facilities to factor in the actual cost of operation, maintenance and repair,“ explains School Board Chairman Darcy Higgins.
Those facilities are used by youth organizations, local government agencies and departments, churches and others, as well as school district-sponsored organizations and their associated organizations.
Currently, the fees for the use of school facilities are $20 for up to three hours, and $50 for all day.
It was following a discussion on revising regulations for facilities use at the School Board’s Monday, July 14 meeting that attention was called to the Enrichment Program.
“If you’re going to charge a fee then … I would like to see (the Enrichment Program’s) supplies paid for and some of our maintenance and clean-up and all those things taken care of,“ Greene County Primary School Teacher Joanne Woods told the Board.
School Board members responded that they didn’t know all that much about the Enrichment Program.
“It would be good to know exactly who is doing it, what they’re doing, what are their purposes,“ said Board Vice-chair Michelle Flynn.
“How much is this costing the school system?“ asked Board member Troy Harlow. “(Is it) making a profit based off the fact that they’re using our facilities and our … personnel, things of that nature?“
No, it is not, says Enrichment Program Manager Ginger Morris. Contacted after the meeting, Morris said that the Enrichment Program is entirely self-sufficient.
She also explained its history: “The Program started because children were going home alone. (Under its Community Development program), the County gave us an area in the Primary School to use at no cost, and the parents came up with the money to get us started.“
Eleven children were enrolled the first year of what would prove to be a popular program. Morris recalls that in 1995 a summer program was started, and a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant applied for to pay for food. A second program with an original enrollment of more than 30 children was started in Ruckersville, when the Ruckersville Elementary School opened its doors in 1998.
Now, the Enrichment Program provides before school (from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.,) after school (from 3 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.) and summer (from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.) care for children ages four years, nine months to 13 years of age at both sites.
“The children are divided into appropriate age groups,“ says Morris. “They are tended to by supervisors who have received a Child Development Associate credential and by counselors that are trained in CPR, First Aid, Child Development, Playground Safety, and more,“ says Morris.
Enrichment Program personnel, who, Morris says, sometimes “start at $6.50 an hour,“ are paid for by the County. The supervisors are paid according to their experience; the rate per hour ranges from $8.00 to $9.50.
During the school year, children are provided with homework assistance, computer time, sports time, outside play, and gym time. During the summer, they enjoy in-house activities that include D.J. Bubbles and Magician Wes Iseli. And, they participate in field trips to places such as Greenefield Farm, Dairy Queen, Highlands Golf, and the Greene County Park.  Fees for trips are paid by Enrichment Program patrons.
The Stanardsville site now has a daily average of 80 for summer care and a daily average of 90 during the school year. On average, 90 children a day are cared for in Ruckersville during the summer. During the school year that average decreased to 35 a day.
At the meeting, Woods questioned the need for two sites, but reached after the meeting, Morris explained. “Before and after school, it’s more convenient to (have the children where they will be attending classes) than to transport them to another school,“ she says.
However, Morris admits the thought of combining the summer programs at one location has crossed her mind. “But I bent to parental requests, and kept both,“ she says.
The Enrichment Program has, from the beginning, paid nothing to the School District for the use of its facilities. But, Morris points out, “We provide our own supplies; our computers, our televisions, and everything else. We even purchased a building on the school grounds to keep them in … our cost has remained “extremely reasonable over the past 17 years.“
Currently, charges for participation in the Enrichment Program are: $2 per child per morning for care before school; $6 per child after school, with and extra $2 per hour charged for early dismissals; and, $14 per child per day for summer care, which includes breakfast, lunch and snacks, Monday through Friday.
Discussions concerning the Enrichment Program are certain to continue.
“We have to close two weeks before school starts (and) on teacher workdays and holidays.  This puts a strain on the working public,“ says Morris. “Our programs could be much more beneficial if we could stay open (more days).
And, “We want to be fair and we want our facilities to be open and all taxpayers to have access but we need to have our expenses met,“ says Higgins.