Arcadia School District could provide child care by August

A potential alleviation to lacking child care options could be coming as soon as August from the school district of Arcadia. At their regular school board meeting on Feb. 17, the board heard reports from administration on potential steps to ready a wing of the current Arcadia Elementary School for child care operations.

District superintendent Lance Bagstad said that consultation with area child care providers has helped determine that up to 101 children could receive care once facilities are properly configured. 

Among facilities updates that would need to take place are fixing roof leaks, providing the required two sinks per room, dividers for splitting up rooms, a fence for the playground and various other regulation compliance-related improvements. Bagstad then asked elementary school principal Paul Halvorsen if he saw any potential hindrances to being open by August, which Halvorsen responded to by saying he sees none.

Bagstad and several school board members wanted to have a defined estimated cost associated with the project before moving forward. The superintendent felt the cost could be in six figures to get a daycare facility licensed and operating, but a survey of district parents this past fall indicated that at least 60 families would be interested in seeing the district open a facility. To care for the 101 potential max capacity, Bagstad also said 12 staff members, including one cook, would also need to be hired.

“I think we have to value the niceties and the necessities as we move forward on this,” Bagstad said.

The district is inquiring about an engineer to help narrow down the costs associated with the project, while reviewing licensing checklists and speaking with the city administrator about zoning and building codes. No other action was taken by the board on the matter last Monday.

Bagstad also provided an update on the Trempealeau Valley Co-op 2.0 later in the meeting, announcing that work continues on what academies and career pathways options will be available at each campus. He affirmed as well that ongoing programming discussions involving teacher travel and shared staff is not and will not be an attempt to reduce staff, although it may affect future district hires.

“The efficiencies are for people leaving and retiring from the district, as those situations arise,” Bagstad said. “Not to lay anyone off that is already employed. This is not a design to reduce current staff.”

The superintendent also announced that the Youth Apprenticeship Consortium currently consisting of Arcadia and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau will also be adding two new members in Whitehall and Blair-Taylor in an expansion of that program as well.