In 2006 the City of Madison is funding childcare and early childhood education programs to the tune of $692,715. These programs provide for early childcare, after school programming, summer programming, as well as data and training for various programs. This year, we recieved applications to the tune of $857,036.
The Early Childhood Care and Education Board made original decisions based on priorities passed by the council and depending upon a 3.6% COLA increase for agencies. That number is the Consumer Price Index last February. (If you ask me, that’s the wrong index and given that agencies have health care costs that are at a pace much higher than that and employees still need raises, the number is likely low. ) However, even at this low cost of living increase, there were many agencies that did not get what they needed to serve the kids in their neighborhoods. Worse yet, there was essentially no new programming or expansions for the ever growing City of Madison.
Given that the Community Services Board and the Early Childhood Education and Childcare Board long ago decided that across the board cuts were hurting all the agencies, they made a list of priorities and give the COLA increases to the agencies every year, leaving some programs unfunded, but trying to support the programs that are funded at a meaningful, if not adequate level.
In the first round of funding we recommended funding for the following assuming funding staying at last year’s funding level:
Atwood Community Center
$44,543 Children and Youth (Summer)
$37,717 Community Preschool
$35,911 Lowell Afterschool Child Care
Bayview Foundation
$12,567 After School Program
$7,566 Summer Recreation Program
4C’s (Community Coordinated Child Care)
$38,100 Child Care Data
$8,955 Latino Child Care Project (Partially UNFUNDED – Requested $35,980)
Dane County Parent Council
$238,789 Satellite Family Care Child Care
$34,191 Wexford Infant/Toddler Program
$37,981 Preschool Enrichment Program (PEP)
$7,310 Wee Start Program
$1,804 Latino/Hispanic Program (Partially UNFUNDED – Requested $7,216)
East Madison Community Center
$22,035 Children Development Services (See UNFUNDED portion below – A)
$15,929 Summer Youth Program (See UNFUNDED portion below – B)
Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
$36,700 Early Childhood Program
$11,807 Children’s Program (See UNFUNDED portion below – C)
Neighborhood House
$15,245 Summer Children’s Program (See UNFUNDED portion below – D)
The Rainbow Project
$20,733 PRIDE Project
Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$17,879 Children’s Program (See UNFUNDED portion below – E)
Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center
$32,398 Elementary After School & Summer Camp (See UNFUNDED portion below – F)
YWCA of Madison
$11,142 Children’s Programs
Based on the Mayor’s budget instructions:
UNFUNDED — When we heard the news that the Mayor was looking for a 3% cut, we had to cut from the programs above an additional $19,760 from the Dane County Parent Council Satellite Family Childcare Program and $6,164 from Kennedy Heights Early Childhood Program.
We also had to tell those who we recommended for funding if the Mayor gave us the minimal 3.6% COLA increase that we could not fund them, cutting the following programs as follows:
UNFUNDED — Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
$6,635 Children’s Programs (C)
UNFUNDED — Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$12,096 Life as a Boy
In our original decisions we were not able to fund the following programs or program expansions:
UNFUNDED — 4C’s (Community Coordinated Child Care)
$32,555 Training and Professional Development
UNFUNDED — Bridge/lake Point/Waunona Neighborhood Center
$13,500 Children’s Programs
UNFUNDED — Wisconsin Youth Company
$58,806 After School Programs
UNFUNDED — Neighborhood House
$6,309 Summer Children’s Programs (D)
UNFUNDED — East Madison Community Center
$3,709 Children Development Services (A)
UNFUNDED — Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$5,000 Children’s Programs (E)
UNFUNDED — East Madison Community Center
$1,022 Summer Youth Program (B)
UNFUNDED — Wexford Ridge
$8,055 Elementary After School and Summer (F)
UNFUNDED — Simpson Street Free Press
$16,000 Elementary School Summer Writing
Given that we keep approving all this sprawl to improve our taxbase, the fact that we don’t have money to expand these much needed programs, something seems amiss.
