DCHS Seeking Youth Services Center Funds
By Joy Campbell, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Jun. 16–Principal Matthew Constant is hoping 2006 will be the year that Daviess County High School loses its distinction of being the only school in the district without a family resource and youth services center.
The Kentucky General Assembly approved funds for 25 additional centers statewide in 2006, and a new round of competition has started for the grants.
The Daviess County Board of Education approved the high school’s application at its regular meeting Thursday night.
The centers primarily serve students and families who are income-eligible, basically those who qualify for free or reduced price lunches. However, any student and family may request services.
“They help eliminate barriers for kids that can be financial or social, and they serve as the hub for serving those students and meeting their needs,” Constant said. “The center also helps the whole school culture through character education speakers and in other ways.”
Constant said he has witnessed the high school’s need for a center.
“We have kids coming to our guidance office for help, and we help them, but we have no centralized means to do this; it’s a critical need here,” he said.
The center staff could serve specific needs for students such as buying appropriate clothes for the first day of school and paying football or other extracurricular fees.
“We’ve been on a list of unfunded youth services centers for years,” he said. “This year, it’s a competitive grant process again, so we’re reapplying.”
About 309 of DCHS’s 1,631 students qualified for free or reduced price lunches last school year.
The high school was approved for center funding in 2003 but didn’t get the money because of budget cuts, Superintendent Tom Shelton said.
“Originally we thought they would take the new money and fund those that already were approved first, but they decided to open the funds for anyone eligible,” Shelton said. “It’s a little frustrating, but we understand.”
Districts are expected to be notified of the awards in September with funding approved for October.
If approved, the district could receive an additional $63,036 to pay for a coordinator who would be hired to work 240 days per year. When prorated to reflect the October opening, that budget equals $47,277.
The balance will be used for services, which could include support for the school health program already in place.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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