TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– The Vigo County Council approved a $3 million request to fund expansion of Indiana State’s early childhood education center during Tuesday’s meeting.
The money, which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, will help them remodel some of the floors to help the center serve more families. Holly Curtsinger, the director for the center, said it will help them expand from around 90 children to about 140 after the first phase is complete.
Curtsinger said expanded services were needed in the community– as their waitlist currently sits at about 100 children.
“Infant and toddler capacity in this community in particular is sorely lacking,” she said. “We have a number of preschool resources that can support children age three and above, but those infants and toddlers, our children who are essentially six weeks to two years in age, really need that additional support, and a program like ours at ISU is well-positioned to support those community needs.”
The proposal passed on a 4-3 vote from the council. Councilmembers Aaron Loudermilk, David Thompson and Travis Norris voted against the motion, while Nancy Allsup, Vicki Weger, Marie Theisz and Todd Thacker were for it.
Thacker said he thought this was an important step in addressing the shortage of services in the community.
“Looking at myself, or looking at people who are half my age, it affects them because we have grandchildren who live in the area, so I know firsthand how important child care is,” he said. “You heard [fellow councilmember] Marie Thiesz make the mention that we have like 5,440 children under five, and our need for daycare or early childhood development, we only have about 3,000 available.”
Those against the proposal cited fears this investment would not properly help address the needs in the area and that it would have trouble sustaining the growth. Curtsinger said she understood the concerns but believes the program will have the sufficient funds moving forward.
“Any time that you’re looking for growth, you’re looking for someone who is well-equipped to manage that growth and to support those additional employees and additional needs,” she said. “One thing about childcare is that it’s largely self-sufficient, so the majority of the revenue comes from those tuition dollars. We would be looking to support our future expansion and staffing with those additional tuition dollars.”
Still, ISU officials said there is still plenty of work to be done to help families in Vigo County. ISU President Deborah Curtis said during the meeting she wants to work with others in the community to develop a strategic plan to address these needs. ISU is also requesting $1 million from Terre Haute City Council on this project.
Thacker said this will only be a piece of a larger push to provide more childcare opportunities moving forward.
“You heard them say, it’s going to take $40 million to solve the daycare or early childhood development [shortage,] so we’re doing $3 million,” he said.
