Friday, August 6, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
With grant funds, districts partner for summer child care
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
With a grant from the
state, the Seaside School Dis-
trict agreed to provide sum-
mer learning and enrichment
opportunities for K-12 stu-
dents in partnership with the
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation District.
The memorandum of
understanding, brought to the
park district board at its July
meeting, includes funds to
partner with local agencies
for child care services for ele-
mentary age students before
and after classes.
House Bill 5042 autho-
rized the Oregon Department
of Education to make avail-
able $195.6 million general
fund and $10 million fed-
eral funds in grant funding to
participating school districts
for academic summer school
to support high school stu-
dents facing academic credit
loss, summer enrichment pro-
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District
Grant funds help support Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District summer camp, child care
programs.
grams and wrap-around child
care, school district Superin-
tendent Susan Penrod said.
“We have partnered with
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation to provide child care
before and after summer
school for our families,” Pen-
rod said.
The child care por-
tion of the grant is for about
$171,000. The total sum-
mer learning grant alloca-
tion is just under $611,000,
which must be used by Sept.
30. Summer school runs from
Aug. 2 to Aug. 27.
According to the agree-
ment, the school district pro-
vides transportation to and
from the park district during
summer programs at Pacifi c
Ridge Elementary School.
The school district will
transfer funds to the park dis-
trict for registration fees for
the children that are enrolled
as well the staff time, pro-
gram program costs and the
other expenses incurred,
Skyler Archibald, executive
director of the park district,
said.
The wraparound child care
is intended to remove barri-
ers for working families who
would otherwise not be able
to participate in summer pro-
grams due to transportation
and child care challenges.
The school district pro-
vides child care funding free
of charge for up to 50 stu-
dents this summer, sack
lunches and child care before
and after summer programs.
Those qualifi ed can partic-
ipate in programs with the
school district or the park
district.
The park district received
an additional grant from the
Oregon Community Founda-
tion for $50,000 for summer
camp programming.
“Overall we’ve experi-
enced a signifi cant increase
in funds for summer camps,”
Archibald said. “There were
a lot of funds made avail-
able and we were sort of
trying to apply for some of
those funds. We are serving
more children than we ever
have on their summer camp
program and part of that is
because of our facility, part
of it, because we’re off ering
a really wonderful program
with diverse opportunities,
enhancing the minds for the
kids but also enhancing phys-
ical wellness and providing a
safe space.”
Homelessness: City councilors
unanimously approve task force
District business manager
Sara Lu Heath and local
businessman Bill Mon-
tero. Wright and Commu-
nity Development Direc-
tor Kevin Cupples will
also serve on the task
force.
Councilors
unani-
mously approved the cre-
ation of the task force.
“I truly believe what I
said at the end of the ses-
sion last time,” Montero
said, referring to the last
forum on homelessness.
“We have to try some-
thing. We can’t say, ‘Oh
that’s good, but’ — and
fi nd a reason not to try
any of the ideas. We may
try an idea and fall fl at on
our faces. But we have to
move forward.”
Continued from Page A1
R.J. Marx
The land of Broadway Field is owned by the city, maintained by the park district and mostly used by the school district.
Field: Agreement runs until 2051
Continued from Page A1
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E
RIL Y’
S
and Offi ce for Civil Rights
requires improvements to
the softball fi eld, bringing it
to an equivalent level as the
baseball fi eld. School district
Superintendent Susan Pen-
rod said the cost of the ren-
ovations will be paid by the
school district.
Any proposed change to
usage or policies governing
usage requires approval of the
three parties.
The park district, school
district and city meet typically
every other month and talk
about a wide array of topics
that are of interest, Archibald
said. “We’ve actually had
multiple conversations over
the past year or so about the
fi eld.”
Park district board member
Celeste Bodner said clarity is
important.
“We need to be clear who
is responsible for what so that
we can inform the public that
uses the fi eld as to who to go
to when they have something
that needs to be done,” she
said.
According to the agree-
ment, the city owns the land
and is responsible for litter
control and custodial services
for permanent restrooms.
As part of its role, the park
district contributed $200,000
for fi eld costs and provides
ongoing fi eld maintenance.
This year, the park district
budgeted $12,000 for main-
tenance from the Broadway
Field Fund, about a third of
the fund’s total balance.
The school district also
paid $200,000 for fi eld cost. It
is responsible for supervising
time usage of the fi eld.
According to a chart from
the park district, the school
district and their sports teams
are the primary users of the
fi elds, using the fi eld almost
two-thirds of the time in 2020
and more than 70% in 2019.
Seaside Kids, the park dis-
trict and other recreation pro-
grams make up the remain-
ing portion of the fi eld usage.
“Almost every year, around
60% to 70% of the available
time on the fi eld are used by
the school district,” Archibald
said.
While the fi eld needs
of the Unsheltered.
“When
Steve
approached us to be on
this group it was like,
‘Yeah, we’ll want to be
there,’” Moff ett said.
“We’re really interested
in seeing well how much
leverage can we have and
how much power do we
have to make some diff er-
ent decisions that maybe
will make it a little eas-
ier to attract and build
or repurpose aff ordable
workforce housing.”
Brian Owen, the CEO
of the Seaside Chamber
of Commerce, is also a
member of the task force,
as are Columbia Pacifi c
Economic Development
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Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District
Seaside School District usage
in 2020.
repairs, he said, the park dis-
trict has delayed those to
ensure that an appropriate
timeline is followed. Out of
that fund, the park district
is to pay “all the expenses
for equipment repair and
maintenance.”
With a fi eld life expectancy
of eight to 10 years, the fi eld
has already exceeded that and
is expected to do so for three-
to-fi ve more years.
The agreement calls for the
park district to establish a fi eld
replacement fund to receive
money from user fees to help
replace the fi elds. While the
park district has a capital fund
with some funds that could
be allocated for replacement
costs, it does not have a sep-
arate fi eld replacement fund.
Revision of the agree-
ment arose more than a year
ago, when park district board
members sought to limit what
they saw as disproportionate
fi eld expenditures.
“This has been an item
that has never left our mind
but has recently gained some
momentum as we are working
to return programming and
access to our pre-pandemic
levels,” Archibald said.
The agreement runs until
2051. It calls for the city, park
district and school district to
jointly review the agreement
after three years and at least
once every fi ve years after.
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