The Head Start program had to close the preschool classroom

Families are working to find alternative programs for local 3-year-olds

(Seguin) – After a little more than two months, a group of three-year-olds have to say goodbye to school. The Community Council of South-Central Texas, which operates the Head Start program in Seguin and neighboring communities, was recently forced to tell parents of one of its classes in Seguin that it was forced to do so due to funding cuts by the state-run Head Start office , to close one of its classrooms at the center on North Austin Street.

CCSCT Executive Director Bobby Deike says the funding cuts are reportedly due to the Head Start Office’s decision to change the enrollment number it agreed to fund.

“After enrolling children for the new school year, we had 83 children enrolled in Head Start both here in Seguin and at our New Braunfels Center, our New Braunfels ISD contract with Lonestar Early Childhood and our new ISD contract with Navarro ISD . So we had a total of 83. On September 9th, we received a formal letter from the Head Start office informing us that they would be reducing our enrollment to 69 spots and that CCSCT would be facing a significant reduction in funding at the same time as the reduction “said Deike.

Deike says this news, which impacted the preschool classroom, came as a complete shock to his office. He says there was no warning from the Federal Office.

“We have attended a number of national conferences where Head Start’s federal office from Washington DC was present, and in every presentation this person gave, he stated that Head Start programs would not be affected by a funding cut . So we were really surprised by this letter dated September 9th, which told us that not only the number of funded places but also our funding would be cut, and that’s why we had to make the decision that we did.

“Unfortunately, that was the decision we had to make,” said Deike.

Although the families of these 15 children are now forced to make alternative plans, Deike says the CCSCT wasted no time and filed an appeal on September 26th. However, he says, the results of that appeal will not be decided until 90 days from that date.

“We have taken steps to try to reverse some of the decisions that the Head Start office has made, and so now we just have to wait for the Head Start office to meet its time frame for the response “Have a hearing and then hopefully make the decision to restore the places and the funding so we can help these children,” Deike said.

Meanwhile, Deike says the decision to close one of his classrooms wasn’t easy.

“It is very concerning to us that we have had to push families out of the Head Start program. The Head Start office assured us that it was not their intention to push families out of the program and that we operated on that basis. It has a negative impact on these families that CCSCT did not want to break this news to the families under any circumstances. The children had gotten used to their classroom, their teachers and the center and were looking forward to coming to the center every day to be with their friends. That’s why it’s pretty concerning that we’re being put in this situation by the Head Start office. “We have to make this decision at the local level,” Deike said.

Since announcing its decision, CCSCT said it has made itself available to support families during this transition by identifying alternative programs and resources.

The local classroom officially closes on October 31st.