Doing what it could to help what many see as a shortage of childcare providers in Great Bend, the City Council Monday night approved cutting the rent at the Front Door facility for the Great Bend Children’s Learning Center. This was done since the center receives funds from the United Way of Central Kansas which fell short of its goal.

The center is partially funded through the UWCK, City Administrator Kendal Francis said told the council. “As you probably have heard, the United Way’s 2019 campaign experienced a $40,000 shortfall and has forced them to cut funding to their partner agencies. This will result in an approximate $6,000 cut to the center’s funding.”

Currently, the center pays $300 per month to rent the Frond Door. Francis recommended, and the council approved, temporarily reducing that to $50 for one year. 

“That will provide some relief on expenditures,” he said. “It also allows time for them to decide on needed operational changes, and hopefully donations to United Way rebound

“We heard during strategic planning that the community identified childcare as an issue, and while it would normally be outside the city’s bailiwick, this would be a way that we could indirectly support it,” Francis said.  

The Great Bend Children’s Learning Center is a non-profit child care center that rents space at the Front Door for their School Age program, which includes children aged

Kindergarten through sixth grade.

It serves 114 children (2 weeks through 12 years old), 22 at the Front Door and 92 at their main location, 1802 22nd Street. The center employs 18 full-time and one part-time staff members.

The hours of operation are 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year. Summertime hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.