Early Learning Coalition asks Newberry for $30,000 to help keep local children in care

The Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County asked the Newberry City Commission on July 28, 2025, for a $30,000 contribution to help cover a local funding shortfall and keep 86 children enrolled while addressing a wait list of 78 children from Newberry.

Coalition CEO Xaviera White said the coalition passed both its single audit and state fiscal audit and that “we are fiscally responsible.” She described a mix of grants that fund programs: a school readiness grant of about $12,000,000 (state and federal), VPK funding of about $4,000,000, $450,000 from the Children’s Trust of Alachua County, $65,035 from the City of Gainesville, a small UF staff contribution, and $4,050 from the City of Waldo. White said the coalition’s statewide funding declined after the governor’s budget was signed and that statewide coalitions lost $78,000,000; her local coalition’s shortfall is about $1,340,000.

White told commissioners that Newberry currently has 86 children in coalition-supported care (49 in ZIP 32643, 32 in 32618, 5 in 32669) and 78 children on the Newberry wait list. She said parents pay a required co-pay equal to 7% of income directly to the childcare facility, not to the coalition. White offered to provide the city with regular reports showing the names and addresses of children served so the city can verify funds support Newberry residents.

White said the coalition will use local funds to avoid disenrolling children already in care and possibly to pull children from the wait list. She described a plan to use local contributions as match to state funds (for example, turning a $30,000 city contribution into roughly $60,000 with matching rules) and asked the city to allow matching at a 50/50 basis if possible.

Commissioners asked for additional detail about provider breakdowns; White said she did not have the ZIP-code-by-provider percentages at the meeting but offered to email that breakdown the next day. No formal funding vote occurred; the request remained a presentation and a funding request for future consideration.

Why it matters: The coalition said the loss of state funding risks displacing families who rely on subsidy to work and to prepare children for school. White highlighted that school readiness serves children from infants through age 12 (if recertified) and that VPK is free for 4-year-olds regardless of income. She also noted an upcoming October change to eligibility that raises eligibility toward the state median income, intended to reduce the “childcare cliff.”

Next steps: White requested that the commission consider a contribution and said the coalition would provide written reports (monthly or quarterly) documenting Newberry beneficiaries if the city funds the request. Commissioners asked staff to share the provider breakdown White offered to deliver.