COVID-19 Update: Financial Planning
June 2020
Dear SCDC families,
First and foremost, thank you for continuing to weather this storm with us.
We, the SCDC Board of Directors, would like to take this opportunity to share information regarding decisions that may have to be made at our August board meeting that will have a direct impact on your family’s financial planning.
As a Board we are having ongoing conversations that involve making difficult decisions based on how to survive as an organization and continue to provide care to Marion-Polk families, as we have done over the past 50 years. We send this letter to provide
transparency to the families served by SCDC, to continue to support the desired relationship of trust between you, the staff and our Board and to allow families to plan for what might lay ahead.
From the start of school closures and the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Governor’s order we have been having ongoing dialogue about how to avoid increasing child care tuition to families, as well as not charging families that are currently not accessing care. During
these unprecedented times we are seeing other child care providers charge for care regardless of a family’s attendance or closing their doors permanently due to unexpected financial challenges. As a result of diligent involvement by our Executive Director in early
conversations, accessing funding sources quickly and through donations from our community we have been able to provide care for many essential workers. We have accessed stimulus grants and implemented internal spending cuts or freezes as appropriate to maintain the fidelity of SCDC’s mission, while remaining operational under the Emergency Licensure requirements through the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Early Learning Division (ELD).
As a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization our motives are not financially driven and our conservative budget reflects our non-profit
mission. Due to the current emergency licensing rules from ODE and ELD our enrollment is required to be decreased by more than 50%, however the staffing required to maintain sanitization and stable group sizes is similar to when we were operating pre-COVID-
19. This means that, while the emergency licensing/stable group requirements are in place, our expenses will exceed our income as stimulus funding from both the State and Federal government ends.
If you’re able, please consider making a charitable donation to SCDC. As previously mentioned, we do operate on a conservative budget and the current licensing requirements have us operating at a loss. Every little bit helps SCDC and is tax deductible for you.
Please feel free to contact our office or visit our website where you can donate directly via Paypal.
It is very likely that we will need to look at an additional tuition increase for the upcoming school year. A discussion will take place during our August Board Meeting about the possible need to TEMPORARILY increase tuition while operating under the Emergency
Licensure. Unfortunately, at this time we do not anticipate having any definite information regarding the 2020-2021 school year until the middle of August. Our goal is to keep rates as low as possible for our SCDC families, however increases may be necessary to
remain a child care provider in the communities we love and call home for many years to come.
In times like this, we’re reminded of how interconnected we all are. Thank you for being part of our community. Without you, none of it is possible.
Please stay tuned for more information as it is available.
Salem Child Development Center Board of Directors