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MILTON — The Early Learning Coalition of Santa Rosa County, like other ELCs across the state, facilitates the School Readiness Program and Voluntary Prekindergarten Program. These programs help children from low-income families receive care and education while their parents work or receive education.
There is a history in Florida of ELC’s merging and a report from the Office of Early Learning has ELC of Santa Rosa County staff nervous that a merger could be in its future.
Language in Florida Senate bill 2500 required the Office of Early Learning to prepare a report recommending reducing the number of coalitions from 30 to 25.
In a Nov. 27 report, the OEL recommended eight mergers, including the ELC of Santa Rosa County merging with the ELC of Okaloosa and Walton Counties.
"The last thing I want to do is to lead people to think that we have been told we have to merge with another coalition because that isn’t the case," ELC of Santa Rosa County Executive Director Melissa Stuckey wrote in an email. "The report was given to the House committee as required but as of now, that is as far as it has gone."
While the OEL administers the 30 ELCs, the Association of Early Learning Coalitions supports them. The AELC sent OEL Director Robert McKinnon a letter to include with the OEL report to the Florida Senate supporting keeping the state ELCs at 30.
"While the AELC recognizes that this completion of this report is required by legislative proviso, our association feels very strongly that the current number of coalitions is appropriate," AELC President Matt Guse wrote in the letter to McKinnon.
Guse goes on to include impacts of mergers such as time and costs of merging, disruption to families and providers and potential loss of match dollars from local county governments.
"We get a match from the United Way and from the Board of County Commissioners," Stuckey said. "That helps pay for child care for low-income families … So possibly if we merge then those match dollars might not be available. I can’t speak for the county but I spoke with the United Way and they wouldn’t send funds to another county."
The money the ELC of Santa Rosa County raises pays off with the federal government.
"Every $6 we raise locally we get $94 from the feds," Stuckey said. "That money multiplies."
Stuckey also said every dollar they raise goes to child care.
A merger brings unknown variables: a loss of local control, a loss of representation in a board made up of multiple counties and a question of whether the Milton and Gulf Breeze offices will both remain open, according to Stuckey.
"The misconception with a lot of services going online is parents don’t need to come into the office," Stuckey said. "We have an influx of parents weekly who come in to use computers. They need assistance uploading documents. I don’t feel that will go away anytime soon."
Some Santa Rosa County child care providers don’t want to see a merger happen. The ELC connects families in need of child care to those businesses that provide it.
Roy and Jessie Moulder own Berryhill Child Care and Berryhill Afterschool & Summer Camp. Roy is also on the Santa Rosa ELC board.
"We have an incredible relationship," Roy said. "They provide access to experienced people and trainings and we can come to them with any concerns. We have direct people we can talk to, not just an agency. We meet once a month, not just a phone call. There’s a history there."
"Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody face to face," Stuckey said.
The proposed mergers exist only as a plan in a report for now and Stuckey said there’s been no more mention in the House or Senate but she remains cautious.
"We might not know the outcome until the final day of session," she said.
817: Year-to-date monthly average of children served in the School Readiness Program through the Early Learning Coalition of Santa Rosa County
1021: Monthly average of children served in the Voluntary Prekindergarten program through the ELC of SRC
60: Approximate number of child-care providers in SRC working with the ELC
42: Approximate number of families served through School Readiness Program between two of the providers together, Berryhill Child Care and Berryhill Afterschool & Summer Camp
23: Percent of children served at Berryhill Child Care and Berryhill Afterschool & Summer Camp through the School Readiness and Voluntary Prekindergarten Programs
Source: Early Learning Coalition of Santa Rosa County
BY THE NUMBERS
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Merger talks concern local Early Learning Coalition