Associated Students Inc. announced Wednesday that $19,000 has been made available through a Federal waiver to enable the Children?s Center Evening Program to remain open for the spring 2001 semester.

The money was left over from Pell grant funding which ASI receives annually. The funds are used to subsidize those who qualify to receive Pell grants. Funding is taken from this grant to pay the Children?s Center fees for student parents who are eligible.

“We ended up with a pot of $19,000 left over from last year,” said ASI Executive Director Carol Ackerson. ” There are restrictions on who and how we can use this money.”

ASI Associate director Pat Worley was put to work to find alternatives to closing the center. Worley requested a waiver from the Federal Government. ASI kept these efforts to re-assign last year?s Pell Grant funds quiet because as Ackerson said, “It was an incredible longshot.”

“What we requested is that we be free to underwrite these dollars for staff. One reason our center is expensive is that we have high quality staff,” Ackerson said.

The staff is expensive because in agreement with regulations the Children?s Center employs trained and certified childcare personnel.

The request for a one-time-only waiver of the grant money was approved. The carryover funds will now be used to pay for evening staff.

“Now these grants will be helping support those that are not Pell grant eligible. We still have to work out expenses, because we?re not going to have an extra $20,000 every semester,” Ackerson said.

Professor Christine Miller, chair of the Parent Advisory Comittee budget sub-committee said PAC members were delighted by the announcement.

“This was the first PAC had heard of it, we were thrilled. It gives us breathing room to look at other models for semesters to come,” Miller said.

Solutions are still being sought to cut expenses at the Children?s Center. ASI is looking at the possibility of moving the service to an off-campus facility. These funds will allow the PAC time to come up with a new plan that will take into consideration the reduction of the Center?s operating budget.

“We?re trying to bring experts in and get a group together that can break the gridlock. We?re going to have to be incredibly creative. We?ve got to explore not the money option, but a creative way to provide this service,” Ackerson said. “If we can find a way to do this, we?re really going to make a mark.”

At the next PAC meeting members plan to put together an online survey to see what student need is for evening childcare.