Barton Community College’s Child Development Center has increased revenue while cutting expenses, although it still operates in the red, according to the annual report compiled by CDC Director Larissa Graham.
The report shows the Child Development Center has operated at a net loss of more than $100,000 a year since at least 1999, when the net loss was $127,159.
The BCC Board of Trustees now requires an annual report from the center. Chairman Mike Johnson commented on the report when it was presented last Thursday during the board study session. The Child Development Center provides day-care service to BCC employees and its students, and is available to the public. It is also an educational training center in the field of child care.
“I think there’s lots of reasons why we can justify the program, not just from a dollars and cents point of view,” Johnson said.
Losses were cut by more than 17 percent last year, Graham reported. The Center operated at a loss of $87,343 during the first 10 months of this fiscal year, compared to $105,609 for the same period one year ago. The net loss for the entire year in 2010-11 was $136,000, the highest since 2006-07, when the program lost $152,241.  One year earlier, the net loss was the lowest in over 10 years, at $104,211.
Revenue for the last 10 months was $196,135, but expenses were $283,478. Just under 90 percent of the expenses were for salaries, social security and health insurance.
The Child Development Center raises its rates annually and expects to do so again this year, but it also faces new regulations, Graham said. In 2010, the Kansas Legislature passed Lexie’s Law, named for a 13-month old girl who died inside a Mission home day care in 2004.
New requirements continue to be added to Lexie’s Law. For example, by the end of this year, every child care facility in the state must ensure that none of its cribs were purchased before June 28, 2011. Graham said employees must also receive additional training.