Lisbon Early Childcare Center’s rates are slated to increase by five percent for the coming year.
Creative beginnings classrooms (one staff to four children) are $234 a week or $67 per day for drop-in care, explorers (a one staff to 7 children room) are $212 a week or $61 a day for drop-in care. Discoverers (one staff to 10 children) rates are now $195 a week or $56 per day for drop-in care. Three-year-old preschools are only $50 per week for care. Pathfinders preschool wraparound care is $174 a week or $51 per day for drop-in care. School age care during the school year will be $66 a week for before school only care, $73 a week for after school only care or $104 a week for before and after school care. No school days are an additional $22 per day. Drop-in care for school age children is $20 ofr before school, $23 for after school, or $28 for before and after school care. No school day drop in care rate is $51 per day/
Superintendent Autumn Pino and LECC director Bre Ties and assistant director Kelly Robertson met about the potential rate increases to try and keep things affordable and allow the center to remain operational.
Pino said that one of the changes for the center is capping child care at a total of 10 hours in any one day. After those 10 hours, additional charges will apply.
“Some of this is being done to remain consistent with what LECC West is doing for families in our area,” Pino said.
Even with the proposed five percent increases to rates at LECC, Pino said that the center is still well under rates in other communities, especially when compared to the state.
“We’re not trying to take advantage of the fact we’re the only larger daycare center in the community, because we know how difficult this is for families as well,” Pino said.
LECC West is now utilizing all four classrooms at that center, and will be extremely close to capacity by the end of summer.
“As we’ve been bringing in more children, we’ve also had to ramp up staffing,” Pino said.
LECC will also see enrollment numbers increase in the higher grades this fall.
The center will see a boost in the state childcare assistance this fall as well, which will help the center be positioned better financially in September and have more breathing room.
The biggest challenge is looking at efficiencies for the two centers. Pino said they met with Michelle McCoy, the nutrition director for Lisbon and Springville Schools, and McCoy had an open mindedness and flexibility on ways they could increase efficiencies for food and nutrition at both sites.