City of Sweetwater works with school district to expand childcare
SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The City of Sweetwater is developing plans with Sweetwater ISD to expand daycare availability by allocating funds to a preexisting childcare facility.
As any parent knows, the decision of having to work and taking time away from caring for a young child is a difficult one, and for parents in Sweetwater that decision has become even more difficult as they are faced with a lack of childcare facilities.
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Nolan County’s child population from infant to 12 years is about 2,500. Keep in mind, the entire county has a total of just 405 spots in its daycare system, highlighting a real need for a larger capacity.
With little availability, Municipal Development District Executive Director Miesha Adames said the City of Sweetwater and Sweetwater ISD has formulated a plan to correct this problem.
“They (Sweetwater ISD) already have a daycare facility at South East Elementary. With our collaboration and our efforts to help them expand, they’re going to be able to do some capital outlays on their rooms, hire additional staff, and increase the capacity of that daycare,” explained Adames.
By taking funding from pre-existing sales tax for the town, a percentage of that sales tax will be allocated into a reserve fund, which was made for occasions like these. When local businesses and hotels see an increase in flow, like when the city hosts the Rattlesnake Roundup, that reserve fund is increased, as Adames explained.
In turn, the preexisting daycare at the elementary school will use some of that reserve fund to expand its childcare facilities to increase available capacity.
One of the limited daycare options in Nolan County is Cornerstone Christian School. Head of the school, Stephanie Baker, told KTAB/KRBC she understands parents’ frustrations with available and affordable childcare in the area.
“Parents call and we give the answer of like, ‘we don’t have anything,'” Baker began. “We really don’t have anywhere to send them, either. Our hands are tied as theirs are too, and in order for them to be able to work they need to find somewhere safe for their children to go.”
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Baker went on to explain that Cornerstone closes for the summer months, thus increasing the need for childcare for working parents during that time of year.
While the plan does offer relief to parents in need, the city outlined how this is just a small step in furthering the childcare needs for this community. Based on the success of this cooperative plan, the city may decide to extend the same type of funding to other daycares in the area in order to aid those in expanding facilities and meet the needs of the community.
As of right now, the expansion of Sweetwater ISD daycare facility is set to open and accept new children at the end of the summer.
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