Published: July 03, 2009 11:07 am      

Head Start gets boost

San Marcos — It may be only rarely, but good news can arrive at precisely the right time.

That seems to be the case with the local Head Start program and just-announced funding to the tune of $270,497.

“The timing is perfect,” said Audrey Abed, director of Head Start for Hays and Caldwell counties.

For one, knowing now that the money is coming will allow the program to greatly expand the scope of maintenance to be completed before classes start in the fall. For another, two of the program’s 120 staff members who would likely have lost their jobs will now keep them.

Abed said during the past two years, she’s had to lay off four people. “That’s not a huge amount, but still....” she said.

Abed got the news this week from the office of Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

Abed said the money will allow her not only to save two jobs but provide a raise for employees. She cited maintenance and repairs, equipment and supplies and professional development as other areas where the money will be spent.

Regarding maintenance, Abed said the money will allow the program to invest in a long-term plan for managing and maintaining the air conditioning systems on all the program’s campuses. Currently, there are five Head Start programs in the two counties serving three and four-year-olds, and three Early Head Start programs that serve younger children.

Other maintenance issues include things like replacing equipment in the kitchens, classrooms and playgrounds. “Some of our furniture is 18 years old,” she said, listing items like wooden chairs, tables and bookcases that could splinter.

The money will also be used to help fund professional development for Head Start education staff and family service workers.

“The types of families we work with and their needs are always changing,” she said, particularly in the worsening economic climate. “We basically keep ourselves up to date.”

Abed blamed rising costs of fuel, food and services for a tighter budget during the past two years, but said the federal money will allow the maintenance of a “high quality program.”

Currently Head Start serves a total of 461 households, with 85 of them using services through Early Head Start.

“We must ensure our schools have the resources necessary to provide our children with the best education for which they are willing to work,” Doggett said.

The federal stimulus money is from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).