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Same class, different rooms
By RYAN DAVIS © St. Petersburg Times, published November 13, 2000 ZEPHYRHILLS -- On Friday at Woodland Elementary School, the 4-year-olds in Sissy Keppel's state-funded pre-kindergarten class ate lunch at 12:40 p.m., took naps at 1:45 p.m. and pounded on tambourines. Two doors down, Billie Jo Embry's federally funded class of 4-year-olds ate at the same time, napped at the same time and played a similar unrecognizable brand of music. But the kids can't eat, nap or make music in the same room, school officials said. If the children and the money for their programs aren't segregated, Pasco schools risk losing about $3-million in federal funding for early childhood programs, school officials said. It's an unintended consequence of a state law passed last year, and it has the Pasco County School District on the verge of reducing the services it provides to about 400 kids enrolled in state-funded pre-kindergarten, school officials said. "It has caused us to turn back the clock with what we are doing in the county," said Maria Crosby, director of pre-kindergarten services for Pasco County schools. "We have to be cautious." For more than 30 years, Pasco County Schools have provided the federal program, Crosby said. For about 10 years, those funds have been mixed with state funds. The kids have been mixed, too. That mix of funding has allowed the district to offer state-funded students the same benefits as federal students, providing services -- such as dental care and family counseling -- that they wouldn't otherwise receive. "When you pool two funding sources together, you can make dollars stretch," Crosby said. The federal Head Start program here serves the 600 most needy children -- those in families at risk of abuse or mental problems or earning below the federal poverty level, which is $17,050 for a family of four, Crosby said. The state program, which received $1.7-million in Pasco this year, is not as comprehensive and serves slightly less needy children, Crosby said. Children in a family of four are eligible for the program if the family earns a maximum of $22,165 or receives a referral from a social service agency. The root of the debacle started last year, Crosby said. That's when the state passed legislation requiring the formation of 57 School Readiness Coalitions, bodies of public and private officials that are intended to bring additional accountability to early childhood education. Then the state mandated the coalitions take control of state-subsidized pre-kindergarten and charge parents a small fee. In some places like Pasco, where officials had integrated the state and federal programs, the mandate has hit hard. The federal Head Start program does not allow its providers to collect fees because it doesn't want any roadblocks for children who need services. To keep the federal money, the federal kids and their funding had to be separated from the state program, Crosby said. State officials recognize Pasco's problem, but said they think there is a solution other than cutting services. "One of our jobs is to show things that seem to be working in other counties to coalitions with problems," said Warren Eldridge, deputy director of the Florida Partnership for School Readiness. The fee, which is based on income and ranges from $2 to $28 a week, was created to allow counties to provide additional services, Eldridge said. "But that's not the reality of it," said Crosby, who is also vice-chairwoman of Pasco's coalition. Instead, Crosby said, the schools spend most of the small fee on tracking its collection and figuring how to help parents who are struggling to pay. Essentially, there's no net gain, she said. - Ryan Davis covers higher education and social services in Pasco. He can be reached at 800-333-7505 ext. 3452 or by e-mail at rdavis@sptimes.com.
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