Item:
Title
Award Contract for Administration of Durham PreK (RFP No. 25-039) to Early Years
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: May 27, 2025
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to authorize the County Manager to enter into a service contract with Early Years in the amount of $ 7,373,029, (RFP No. 25-039) and any related contract amendments, to administer the Durham PreK (DPK) program. Based on RFP 25-039 the service contract will run from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2030. The annual amount payable under this contract is contingent upon the approval of the County budget by the Board of County Commissioners during its annual budget process.
Durham PreK is a major Durham County investment in supporting healthy child development and early education for young children in Durham. The work to study and establish a universal pre-k initiative in Durham began in 2015 with joint Board of County Commissioners, City Council, and Board of Education resolution in support of a planning process toward universal, high-quality pre-k. Ever since, Durham County has contributed increasing amounts of funding to community partners to bring that goal to life.
Durham County's investment in pre-k began with a decision to provide sales tax funds to support Durham Public Schools Pre-K. The County's investment in universal Pre-K began in FY 2018 with funding for the Whitted School and a pre-k supply and demand study to inform additional investment and expansion. Beginning in FY 2019, a contract was established with Early Years (formerly Child Care Services Association - CCSA) and multiple subcontracted partners to administer the expansion of Durham Pre-K. From that time, Durham County funding has increased almost every year, growing Durham's locally supported Pre-K seats from close to zero to 1440 in FY 2025.
Based on Early Years response to Durham County RFP No. 25-039, the organization was determined to be qualified to continue to administer the program. The E...
Click here for full text