The Juneau School District Board of Education voted to hold off on returning $1.05 million meant for child care to the city on Tuesday.
The money makes up about two-thirds of the funds left over after the district ended its afterschool and summer child care Relationships and Leadership Learning for Youth program, known as RALLY, last summer.
Private child care provider Auke Lake Preschool now leases space at three elementary schools to provide care: Harborview Elementary School downtown, Sít’ Eetí Shaanáx – Glacier Valley Elementary School in the Mendenhall Valley and Auke Bay Elementary School.
Board Vice President Elizabeth Siddon said she wants to hold on to the funding in case the district needs to step in to provide afterschool child care again.
“I guess I’m waiting for a sort of an established track record with the Auke Lake Preschool in being successful in delivering good child care in case we have to step in and offer something to our students,” she said.
The board last month discussed ways to use the money for things like bussing students to the new RALLY program, but the district’s Chief Financial Officer Nicole Herbert clarified at Tuesday’s meeting that the bussing comes at no extra cost to the district.
Member Steve Whitney was the sole dissenting vote. He said he supports returning the money to the city to maintain a good relationship.
“These are dedicated, restricted funds from the city for a service we’re not providing or can’t provide,” he said.
The school board voted 6-1 to table the decision indefinitely. That means the district keeps the funding in the budget for now, but can only use it for child care. Herbert said there is no timeline from the city to return the funds.
