State grant helps fund new Head Start Facility
KCBY, Sep 13, 2007
A local chapter of a national program aimed at providing low income pre-school children with a head start in their education, is one step closer to securing a new facility in Coos Bay, after receiving some good news regarding state funding.
South Coast Head Start, a program of Oregon Coast Community Action, is the recent recipient of an $800,000 Oregon Community Development Block Grant which helps fund one-third of the cost of a new $3 million facility in Coos Bay.
“We’re planning, at this point, for the building to house five classrooms and that will serve both full day and half day classes. The building will probably be about 14,000 square feet in size,” says ORCCA Grant Writer Margaret Barber.
Currently the Head Start Program, which provides educational and social services to low income children ages three to five and their families, is housed in many locations around Coos Bay and is being forced to relocate many locations due to expiring leases.
“Having a stable site that we don’t constantly have to be changing and being able to give parents one site locations, where they don’t have to be thinking, ‘are we here or are we there,’ it will just make things a lot easier,” adds SCHS Director Dale Helland.
Once all the funding is complete, Barber says they hope to have the new building in place by January of 2009.
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