The cost of early childcare programs in Sycamore schools could increase

SYCAMORE - Sycamore parents could soon be paying more for school-run early childcare programs.

The Sycamore Board of Education discussed raising the cost of two childcare programs: Out of School Care (OSCAR) and Little Spartans Early Learning Program. The board reviews the cost of student fees annually, and they discussed the topic at Tuesday’s meeting.

Nichole Stuckert, assistant superintendent for business services in Sycamore School District 427, proposed several fee increases for the 2023 school year.

“We review these every year, we really take a look at where we compare to other comparable school districts surrounding us and also what our population looks like,” Stuckert said. “As far as a free/reduced [lunch] population, making sure that our families are able to access fee waivers if needed.”

The recommendations were to raise the OSCAR program “by a couple dollars” and the Little Spartans program by $10 per month. The cost of the OSCAR program varies from student to student, but the Little Spartans program costs $185 per month.

Stuckert said that the increases are due to the increase in minimum wages across the state.

“We know that with minimum wage increases coming up, we have to adjust our revenue coming into us,” Stuckert said.

OSCAR is a childcare program that the school district offers for about 400 kindergarten through fifth grade students before and after school. OSCAR also offers full daycare, early dismissal care and about 200 students in its summer care program. OSCAR has a ratio of one staff member to 10 students.

Little Spartans Early Learning Program services both regular education students and students that qualify for special education services. The program follows the school district calendar, operates four days a week, Monday through Thursday, and is housed at South Prairie Elementary School. There are morning and afternoon sessions.

Students who qualify for special education services are automatically granted the opportunity to enroll in Sycamore’s Little Spartans. Other families may choose to enroll their child through a tuition-based model. Tuition can also be paid in payment plans.

Little Spartans offers blended classrooms with a ratio of 70% Individualized Education Plan (IEP) students to 30% regular education students. Stuckert said that there is a waiting list for tuition-based students, but that the school district is federally mandated to provide free education to students with IEPs from the ages of 3 to 21.

“We are looking at adding another teacher, so it would be two more sessions next year,” Stuckert said. “We haven’t made a decision definitively yet.”

Staff from Little Spartans and early childhood education will give a presentation about their programs during the next school board meeting, held Tuesday, May 10.