KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffPre-K classrooms remain empty in Union County

Pre-K classrooms remain empty in Union County

By Crystal Britt - bio | email

JONESBORO, IL (KFVS) - The district superintendent in Union County hopes the state comes through with financing soon.

By now, the Heartland's kids are back in school...most of them anyway.

Pre K students in Union County, Illinois are not in the classroom, meaning their teachers are not earning a paycheck either.  

There are nine Pre-K classrooms in the Union County Early Learning Program.  That includes schools in Jonesboro, Anna, Cobden, Dongola and Lick Creek.

An estimated 200 Pre-K kids are just out of luck right now.

The Pre-K classrooms at Jonesboro Elementary are empty.  The chairs are on the tables, and there are no signs in sight that children have been there.

"The state has never been this behind on paying bills," said Superintendent Gary Hill.

Hill says that's the problem.

"Unfortunately with the state's financial situation, it got behind four months last year in paying bills," said Hill.

In fact, Mr. Hill says the district just received the rest of last year's Pre-K money on September 1st.

"We're just waiting," said parent Robbie Ralls.  "We've got her in daycare, and it's just day to day waiting to see when the money's released."

Ralls and his wife have two daughters.  Their youngest, Torie, should be in Pre-K in Jonesboro right now.  Instead her parents are paying for daycare.

"We know when you're dealing with the state it could be tomorrow or next year," said Ralls.

Other local school districts are facing financial problems as well, and have Pre-K programs in place.

"If you talk to other school districts you'll find very few if any district in this area that have 25-26 Pre-K employees, most only have one teacher and one aide.  That's it," Hill said.

Because Union County's program is so large, Hill says things are very tough.

"Minimal operating expense (for Pre-K) is $80,000 a month for 12 months," he said. 

Pre-K in Illinois is a re-imbursement program.  So, schools have to dip into savings or get a line of credit to pay the bills until the state comes through.

This year, Union County just can't afford either.

Meanwhile, several teachers remain unemployed and kids like Torie just wait.

"We're just hoping for the kids that the money is here for them so they can get the teaching and schooling they need," said Torie's father, Robbie Ralls. 

Superintendent Hill says he's asking the state for $260,000 right now to cover the next several months.

He tells Heartland News he just sent in what's called a "hardship acceptance" request to the Comptroller's office saying the district really needs the money.

He's hoping to see the process sped up, so they can get the funding in the next couple weeks so Pre-K can start.

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