Item:
Title
Discussion of Pre-K Expansion Management Contracting and Request to Initiate Contract Negotiations - 45 min
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: March 8, 2018
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to discuss the proposal received for management of the expansion of Durham County Pre-K and direct staff how to proceed, including possibly approving initiation of contract negotiations with the submitters of the single, joint proposal.
Durham County Pre-K is a concept and program long in the making, as universal pre-k has long been recognized here as a powerful intervention with the power to improve lives. In seeking to move beyond the state’s NCPK allocation of subsidized seats in Durham (themselves only partial subsidies that do not meet the full cost of providing high quality pre-k), the Durham County Board of County Commissioners made a commitment to an initial 8 classrooms in the renovated Whitted School. These classrooms opened in the fall of 2017 with a County investment of $1.5 million. During FY17-18 budget deliberations, the County Commissioners and County Manager also committed to put up to $3.7 million in additional funding into the expansion of Durham County Pre-K in FY18-19. Staff were directed to take a variety of appropriate and necessary steps to prepare for this ongoing expansion.
In the fall of 2017, Durham County went under contract with Child Care Services Association to conduct a “supply and demand study” related to pre-k in Durham, a study which had been one of the principal recommendations of the Durham County Pre-School Task Force Report presented in the spring of 2017. That study and all its component parts is still underway, with interim information available over the course of the spring and final report due before the end of the fiscal year. It is also true, however, that we already know a good deal about the supply and demand for pre-k in Durham which can inform our expansion plans.
In December of 2017 Durham County issued an RFP for “Pre-K Expansion Management Services.” Proposals were due in late January and single, joint proposal from Child Care Services Association and Durham’s Partnership for Children was received. The proposal has been getting reviewed by a number of internal and external partners over the course of February and early March.
Staff are cognizant that multiple proposals might have been better and that more information is always better, all other things being equal. In this case, however, a very complex Durham task was proposed and the universe of potential Durham proposers was well known and relatively small. Additionally, knowing that we learn most by doing and that we believe we know enough to continue a thoughtful, informed expansion of Durham County Pre-K, County staff are recommending that we negotiate a contract with the submitters of the joint proposal received so that the effort to carefully and thoughtfully expand high quality pre-k in Durham can be fully resourced and proceed apace.
Alignment With Strategic Plan: A strong, high-quality pre-k program available at low or no cost to all lower income Durham four year olds will help educational success and quality of life for the individuals and households that receive it, but will have ripple effects (and be affected) across multiple County goal areas.
Resource Persons: Drew Cummings, Chief of Staff; Laura Benson, Executive Director of Durham’s Partnership for Children; Linda Chappel, Senior Vice President of Child Care Services Association
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board discuss the proposal received for management of the expansion of Durham County Pre-K and direct staff how to proceed, including possibly approving initiation of contract negotiations with the submitters of the single, joint proposal.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________