7.1. SR 03-26-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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State awards diStrict $500,000 grant for family center project by Jim Boyle Editor The Minnesota Depart- ment of Children, Families and Learning has awarded the Elk River Area School District the promise of $500,000 in bonding money for a family center. Now school district and agencies which have part- nered up must figure out a way to get one built. The initial footprint calls for a 33,800-square-foot building estimated to cost about $4.5 million. The grant money would come upon completion of a proj- ect. Charlie Blesener, adminis- trator of District 728 Community Education made the grant award pub- lic last week at a meeting of the Elk River Area School Board. More than one-half dozen agencies have partnered up with the school district so far to pursue a family cen- ter. The state issued the grant in recognition that. early childhood education spaces are a challenge for school districts to provide. "The need for us has always been there," Blesener said. "This just gives it a higher profile." The school board accepted the grant and asked about Grant cont'd to page 7 Grant Continued from page 1 a ti~neline. Blesener said one has not been set, but that is one of the next steps. Meanwhile, the organizations involved would continue to seek funds. Sherburne County Public Health, Sherburne County Social Services, Reach Up/Head Start of St. Cloud, Migrant Head Start, Child Care Choices, Inc. and sev- eral representatives of the Elk River Area School District worked on getting the grant. The Elk River Area School District is looking for a ded- icated space for community education, early childhood education, early childhood special education, early 'childhood screening, Adult Basle Education and a young parents program. Public Health envisions having space for its Women, Infants and Children pro- gram. Social services is seeking to co-locate its supervised visitation and crisis nursery in a center. Migrant Head Start would like space to deal with the wave of needs generated by the wave of migrant work- ers. Child Care Choices wants to have space to help train child care providers. For years early childhood programs in the Elk River Area School District have gotten pushed around as the district ran out of space. A family center would be permanent space for early childhood program under. the terms of the grant, Blesener said.