Toledo Public Schools receives a portion of Head Start grant

6/10/2014

This story has been updated with new information.

Toledo Public Schools will receive the majority of the local Head Start grant, with the rest going to a Pittsburgh-based, for-profit early education and child-care provider, according to U.S. lawmakers.

A TPS-led community collaborative will receive about $8 million to serve 1,126 children, while Brightside Academy will receive about $5 million to serve 455 children, according to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur‘‍s office.

Additionally, TPS will receive about $5 million this summer, while Brightside will receive about $3 million to help start programming, Rep. Kaptur‘‍s office said. Of that amount, $1 million for TPS is start-up funds and the rest is bridge funding until December; $0.6 million for Brightside is start-up funds. In December, the federal government will then disbursed the $13 million between the two agencies.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, which administers the program, said last week it would announce grant winners on Thursday.

A TPS spokesman said the district had received no confirmation from HHS about the status of the grant. 

The government announced in late August that Toledo would be part of a national pilot initiative, expanding its local Head Start program to offer services for children from birth through age 5. 

“This is excellent news for Lucas County families and their children,” said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. “Head Start and Early Head Start ensure that children have the skills they need to succeed in elementary school and beyond.”

Community Development Institute, the interim-Head Start provider for Toledo, plans to lay off 280 employees on July 31 since a new provider has been awarded the grant.

The local Head Start program was one of dozens that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services put up for competition in 2011 for the first time. None of the bidders, which included the Economic Opportunity Planning Association of Greater Toledo and TPS, was selected. The U.S. government bid it out again late last year.

CDI of Denver was given the grant on an interim basis while the federal government went through the bidding process.