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Date: 8/17/2021
NORTHAMPTON – During the Northampton School Committee’s Aug. 12 meeting, the committee discussed and approved the extension of Leeds Elementary School’s after-school program, which includes seeking licensure, hiring a coordinator and other staff for the program.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents spoke in favor of maintaining the before- and after-school program at Leeds Elementary School.
To accommodate the residents that were interested in preserving the programs at Leeds Elementary School, the committee agreed to move the item to the top of the new business portion of the meeting.
To start the discussion, Committee member Kaia Goleman made a motion to secure the Leeds program as a pilot program for after-school programs for the district’s four elementary schools.
“I am making a motion to direct the superintendent to secure emergency licensure for the Leeds Elementary after-school childcare program to be district held with the potential to run it as a pilot program this year to be extended as a district-wide program for all four elementary schools the following year,” she said.
With the motion, Superintendent of Schools John Provost would come back before the committee in January with suggestions.
Provost then discussed his thoughts and said the cost for the program would increase but the increase would be because of additions to the program that families would be in favor of.
“I think the main cost drivers would be coming into compliance with the medical aspects of licensure. It would mean having a nurse on call, it would mean having all staff trained in first aid. I think many parents would welcome the increase in cost knowing we would be able to take care of their kids during the time of a global pandemic,” he said.
By bringing the discussion back to the table in January, Provost said the district would be able to decide if Leeds’ in-house program would fit the rest of the district.
“I think the larger issue of which program should it be makes sense to me too. It would be something we plan this winter so we can move on next fall. I think it needs to be one program, we have learned that childcare cannot be individualized, it has to be the same program across the district,” he said.
Provost said he was in favor of applying for licensure for the program and investigating bringing it to the rest of the district but acknowledged that cost could increase by as much as $90,000.
“I would be in support of the motion, and we are ready to dedicate whatever resources we need to in order to get the licence. In voting for the motion, it would involve a price increase, but I think we would be increasing it for a good reason,” he said.
While community members raised their concerns about removing the program, Provost said there have been issues with the program in the past because of a lack of administrative presence and said it made sense to update it to something the other schools in the district can use
“The Leeds after-school program is something I view as a legacy of prior administrations. It was set up in a time when there was a desire to have a different program at Leeds. It was done with parents and staff and was a real commendable effort, but over the years there were a number of issues I had to come and address,” he said.
Provost said some of the issues were employees not being paid overtime properly and the program not falling in line with the district policies, including students that were eligible for free programing were being charged for it. He added that the purpose of changing the program is to bring it in line with other programs in the district.
Committee member Dina Levi said she was in favor of updating the program.
“I have heard from countless community members about the benefits of having an in-house program. I will speak personally, it was one of the reasons I was excited to send my kids to Leeds,” she said.
Leeds Elementary School Principal Christine Wenz said the school was simply waiting on approval to finalize the program.
“We are in the process of hiring a coordinator and getting the staff who would like to work the program, we are at a standstill until a decision is made. Depending on how the vote goes we are ready to get it up and running,” she said.
The committee unanimously approved a motion to seek licensure for the Leeds after-school program and allow Provost to look into adapting it to the rest of the district.
The School Committee next meets on Sept. 9.