Carson schools, Boys and Girls Club work on day care pact

The Carson City School District Board of Trustees has authorized Superintendent Andrew Feuling to finalize a joint use agreement with the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada to provide day care services to Carson City residents.

The agreement gives priority enrollment to district staff members and establishes care in the Student Support Services building behind Bordewich Bray Elementary School at 110 Thompson St., Feuling told board members during their Feb. 13 meeting with BGCWN Executive Director Brett Zunino.

“We hope the item reinforces how much we value our staff in the district and how much we value our community partners and how much we value our community,” Feuling said. “This is a win-win-win across the board.”

Seeliger Elementary School teacher Jennifer Williams first came to Feuling in 2022 about improving day care services for CCSD’s employees after he signed his contract to become superintendent. Williams recalled there was a great need to serve teachers with families and identify recruits while relieving the pressure of finding affordable child care.

“All my friends were contemplating, ‘Do I quit my job, what am I going to do?’” Williams told trustees. “We had teachers quit their profession. … I contacted teachers across the nation.”

Zunino said he and his Smart Start Director Michele Williams were excited about collaborating with the district and bringing in the BGC’s model for CCSD. He referred to a report produced by the Childcare Working Group, formed by the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation’s Workforce Development Board, that declared Nevada a child care desert. More than 74% of children ages 0 to 5 do not have access to licensed child care, data showed.

To help meet the lack of services, the Boys and Girls Club had begun planning its Smart Start centers; one opened Jan. 9 at 1870 Russell Way. In December, the city’s planning commission recommended approval of a code change and a special use permit for a proposed facility at 2805 Mountain St., as a second Smart Start.

Zunino said the model to be established within the district’s Student Support Services building behind Bordewich Bray usually takes 55 children to be self-sustainable. The area needs three of its rooms renovated, including the addition of a bathroom. The estimate is $136,000, but Zunino said the total will be $150,000 to cover unanticipated costs.

Staffing ratios are being determined, and Michele Williams said the organization would follow state child care licensing ratios for adults to children for age groups in a day care center, which are being worked out according to interest. For example, to care for 9-month-olds to 2-year-olds in one room, the ratio is one adult for every six children.

Initially, as this facility is being established, Zunino said newborns to 9-month-olds will be difficult to manage, so the youngest age group is unlikely to be accepted, but the Thompson facility could accommodate children from 9 months to 5 or 6 years.

“I think it’s great the BGC is coming to the table and willing to help,” Trustee Mike Walker said. “There are a lot of stresses put on our schools that we’re not trained to deal with, whether it’s mental health or the security of buildings or day care, and I think it’s great you’re thinking outside the box. And I think you’re moving in the right direction with this.”

BGC Board Member Sena Loyd spoke during public comment and said the work completed by both organizations would be important to anyone needing this service.

“… this item on the agenda is of great importance by providing a service to teachers, day care services, to teachers to be able to help them fulfill their family goals and doing that in a way that is affordable to them,” Loyd said.

Michele Williams told the school board children who start school in their formative years with day care are more likely to experience greater academic and social success.

“There are lots of statistics showing that children who attend preschool have higher graduation rates, higher reading rates, less of the issues we’re experiencing at Carson High School with chronic absenteeism,” she said. “I’ve been loving it personally, seeing the little guys light up and seeing a lot of families who don’t have this opportunity coming into our program that we just opened up at Russell Way.”