Tonight was the last Parent meeting at the Migrant Head Start school where I work. Parents came in from Cumberland and we had the school bus bring in parents from New Richmond. We received word tonight, from the higher-ups, that we might stay to work an extra week. This, of course, is great for many of the parents as it saves them from having to pay for childcare until October 6th, the last day of work at Seneca. There is a need for the service, but we've already gone through our budget. The main problem is that the staff has already made preparations to leave next week. Many of us wouldn't mind a little last-minute income, but we don't have time to make the changes necessary. It took us a while to get this far during our lunch breaks.
In my case, I already gave written notice to my landlord that I'm out next week. My utilities and other services are scheduled to be shut off. In addition, we reserved a U-Haul for our trip. Other staff will be leaving this weekend. Some are paid up until the end of the month only. Suffice it to say, it would be a real challenge for the employees to live up to the change of plans without some serious expenditures.
The way that this, staying another week, could happen is if the parents are able to find the center two new children to attend. Even if a child attends for one day, the school gets full funding for that child. So, two children would be sufficient to cover the costs of running the center for another week. I don't know how likely the parents are to find two children who have not attended a free child care service. In the event that such children exist and the parents are convinced to enroll them, I'll be in Rice Lake another week. Of course, it could be that nothing happens and we do end up leaving.
The RGV is so close in my mind I can feel the hot humid air on my skin. My wife was ready to leave last week. We are "transitioning" our son so he's ready to go home too. But, he's anxious for some grandma love and some time with his sister.
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