By Casey Jarmes | The News Review
During the August 15 meeting of the Keota School Board, Superintendent Dave Harper explained that he had reached out to a number of families that had open enrolled out of Keota. He explained that common themes with them were communication concerns, having parents employed at other districts, Individualized Education Program issues, and, most notably, logistical issues like Keota’s lack of a daycare. He stated that they needed to do their due diligence with families wanting to open enroll to try and prevent this from becoming an issue.
Harper stated that he had met with the Keokuk County Childcare Network (KCCN), which has been working with the school to try and open a daycare using a pair of rooms in the Keota Elementary building, and learned that they are not at a point where they would be able to fund a daycare. Elementary Principal Seth Milledge, who is also a KCCN board member, explained that KCCN had only raised a little over $20,000, which is not enough for the Keota daycare. Milledge explained that KCCN had applied for a Washington County Riverboat Foundation Grant, but been denied, because the foundation does not give money for startup costs. He stated that there was a $45,000 MidwestOne grant that they had pursued, but that the recipients had not been announced yet. Milledge stated that they were looking into the Keokuk County Community Endowment Foundation’s $25,000 Major Grant, but that wouldn’t be awarded until the spring.
Harper explained that the pay for daycare workers would cost around $13,000 a month. He explained that, with 18 children having expressed interest, they would be able to pay workers. However, they would still have the hurdle of being unable to pay a director, which would cost $30,000-$40,000 a year to work full-time. He stated that they could potentially have the director work part-time.
Harper listed out several options for how to proceed, including waiting until KCCN gets the funds to start the daycare; having the district start the daycare and KCCN take over sometime in 2026; or outsourcing running the daycare to another organization. Harper stated that if the school took over the daycare fully they would try to find a current employee to work the position and that he needed time to look into the impact that this would have on the district’s budget. Harper stated that they had gotten the fire marshal’s stamp of approval, but would need to fill out an application with the Department of Health and Human Services before opening a daycare. He stated that they could fill it out with the district’s name and change it later, if they needed to, and that he would submit the application.
Board member Erin McGuire asked what they would do if the district ran the daycare until summer of 2026, but KCCN still didn’t have the funds. She stated they would have to decide between closing the daycare or keeping it open. McGuire asked if 18 children was the max they could have and Harper stated they had room for up to 30. Milledge explained this included eight babies under twelve months, eight babies from twelve months to 24 months, and eight two-three year olds, and that each of those groups would require two workers, for a total of six plus the director. He stated that they had not advertised yet and had just asked around to families to see if they would be interested.
Board member Dan Redlinger asked what KCCN was planning to charge at the daycare and Milledge stated $800-$900 dollars a month. Harper stated that the daycare would be open 6 a.m. til 6 p.m. and that $800-$900 was a pretty standard price. Board member Andy Conrad asked if they could share a director with another daycare. Harper stated they could, but that the Pekin and Richland daycares were not in a position to share a director and that a director would need to be at the daycare a few hours a day. Redlinger asked how much the KCCN had wanted to raise before opening. Milledge stated the original goal was $140,00, to pay for a shared director, workers, have money to open the next daycare, and have money left over as a cushion. Milledge stated that the KCCN was hoping to turn a profit after thirteen months. He stated that he didn’t want to start something to see it fail in a year and wanted the daycare to be sustainable for years.
McGuire asked about plans for a Sigourney daycare. Harper stated that Sigourney was busy with the upcoming bond issue and was more than a year away from opening any daycare. Board member Billie Kindred stated that he felt that all thirty seats would be filled when the daycare opened and that that would help with the director costs. Harper stated that over the next couple weeks he would go over the budget and meet with the KCCN, who may need to step aside and let Keota take over. He stated that he would hopefully have better news by the next meeting and that they could maybe open the daycare in September. Harper stated that Keota needed the daycare.
Also at the Thursday meeting, the board approved giving $10,000 to the booster club to go towards renovating the softball field. Jill Lyle of the booster club explained that there is a 2% grade in the softball infield that causes rain to wash limestone into the third-base dugout, which takes a lot of work to clean out. She stated that the project would scrape away the limestone and even out the field. $37,000 of the $67,000 project is planned to be paid for by a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant, with $10,000 coming from a Minnesota Twins Grant and $10,000 coming from the boosters. McGuire stated she was working on getting 501c3 status for the boosters so they won’t have to request money from the school to get grants.
Harper mentioned that there will be up to five virtual days this year on predictable snow days where parents can be notified early. On these days, elementary students will work out of packets and secondary students will work via Google Classroom. Milledge stated that the elementary work would not be graded and would be mostly review. Secondary Principal Heather Rosewall stated that, similarly, the secondary would be pass/fail supplemental work.
The board approved new school policies, including: new requirements for child abuse investigations; changing the chronic absenteeism policies to add flexibility for kids in the hospital and remove the requirements for certified letters and engagement meetings; requiring “age appropriate” health material; and adding Civics classes as a graduation requirement, beginning in 2026. Harper requested that the board look over legislative priorities so the board can submit the district’s request to the Iowa Association of School Boards next month. Board member Andy Conrad noted that school funding was important. Athletic Director Dan Stout stated that they were planning to try and let people go cashless at the upcoming volleyball tournament; paying with cash will still be offered.
