Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Schools

Two groups merge to prepare for pre-K push

The new coalition between the Hernando and Pasco county groups will oversee pre-K providers and programs.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published March 10, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - A coalition that oversees programs for very young children in Hernando County took steps Wednesday to merge with its Pasco County counterpart so it could comply with the state's plan to enact universal prekindergarten education.

The merging of the two organizations will lead to the creation of the Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties Inc., an organization with representatives from both areas that will oversee pre-K providers and programs.

Already, Hernando coalition officials are looking at a shortage of private organizations willing to provide pre-K services for hundreds of interested parents. Lisa Hammond, the chairwoman of the Hernando coalition, said that current projections showed there will be 1,014 children looking for a pre-K program, but there will be room for only 415.

The new coalition will have between 18 and 35 directors, according to the bylaws adopted Wednesday. According to the merger plan, the Pasco-Hernando coalition will include "approximately 50-50 representation" from each county for appointed positions and rotated membership for five other designated positions.

The merger is official as of April 1. The two counties are merging as part of a state mandate to free money for services by reducing administrative costs.

The new coalition will have its corporate address in New Port Richey, according to its articles of incorporation. Still, advisory councils in Hernando and Pasco will continue to meet and make recommendations to the joint coalition, though they won't have much more formal power.

But Pasco will also be allowed two more coalition board-appointed, private sector members than Hernando County. And James R. Garrett, the current executive director of the Pasco coalition, will retain that position in the new two-county organization. Jo-Ann Kay Fuller, the executive director of the Hernando coalition, will become deputy director.

"As springtime approaches, I believe that there is symbolism in the season for our coalitions to merge and bloom," Fuller wrote in a reflection.

Most of the Wednesday meeting concerned minor procedural issues. But it also revealed that local officials entrusted with implementing pre-K programs are still awaiting the answers to many questions from state officials.

For example, local officials still do not know how much private providers will be paid for teaching pre-K. Gov. Bush has proposed a figure of $2,500 per child.

A 2002 voter mandate amended the state Constitution to require universal pre-K instruction. The plan approved by legislators in a special session last year and signed by Gov. Jeb Bush in January gives parents the choice of enrolling children in year-round programs or a summer program, but other facets are still being discussed.

The state's plan relies almost entirely on private providers to teach the prekindergarten classes and begins this fall. By the summer of 2006, public school districts will be required to set up summer pre-K programs to teach children unable to enroll in yearlong programs.

Hernando schools currently have only seven prekindergarten programs that are funded with federal money. Officials are asking parents to go to the state's pre-K Web site at www.vpkflorida.com to learn more.

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 352 848-1431.

[Last modified March 10, 2005, 01:14:16]