Post Falls Schools Drop Day-Care Plan

There will be no before- and after-school day-care program provided by the Post Falls School District this fall because of inadequate participation.

About 30 parents expressed interest in the program when it was proposed last spring, Assistant Superintendent Jerry Keane said.

But out of 25 of those parents who were contacted recently, just nine were still interested in the program, Keane said. At least 15 children would be required for the program to operate.

The day-care proposal drew fire from private child-care providers who said the district’s low rates would drive them out of business.

After meeting with those day-care owners, district officials decided to raise their rates to make them competitive, Keane said.

About half of the parents who were no longer interested in the district’s day-care program said cost was a factor.

The move has made many private day-care operators happy.

“It was a wise decision,” said Jerry Rodgers, owner of Challenger Christian Day Care. Keane said the district may take another look at before- and afterschool day-care in the spring of 2000, when extra buses will no longer be needed to transport double-shifting students because the new high school will be finished. Those buses instead could be used to take students to day-care sites throughout the district, he said.

“It’s an issue that’s not dead in the Post Falls School District,” he said.

Heather Lalley can be reached at (208) 765-7132, or by e-mail at heatherl@spokesman.com.