Former school board member urges Mount Clemens to pursue 85 Head Start slots at vacant MLK school

Greg Murray, introduced as a former Mount Clemens school board member, told the city commission that more than 300 Mount Clemens children are age- and income-eligible for Head Start and urged the city to back an intergovernmental effort to return federal Head Start funding to the district.

“What you have before you is the 2014 Macomb County Community Needs Assessment,” Murray said, describing an assessment that identifies local eligibility and the district’s current capacity. He said Macomb County has indicated a willingness to consider adding “a minimum of 85 or so” Head Start slots and cited Martin Luther King school as a potential site.

Murray outlined four benefits of the proposal: direct services to local children and families, educational use of a district-owned building paid for with bond funds, potential rental revenue to offset district deficits, and a feeder pipeline into Mount Clemens elementary schools. He noted the county is the Head Start grantee and that the federal government covers most Head Start costs; the county provides a match of services.

Commissioners asked about timing and forms of support. Murray said county conversations were ongoing and that the county could include additional slots in a budget submission to the federal Department of Health and Human Services this July; he recommended the city consider a supportive resolution by April. He said he had spoken with county commissioner Fred Miller and had contacted congressional staff in the offices of Debbie Stabenow, Sandy Levin and Gary Peters to build support once the application is submitted.

Commissioners and residents generally welcomed the concept. One commissioner suggested the mayor or commission could offer a formal statement of support; another asked that the city be prepared to participate in recruitment and a possible work group. The city manager and school officials, Murray said, attended a March 11 meeting to discuss budget preparation and facility readiness.

Next steps: Murray asked the commission to “put that on your radar,” offer support if the commission chooses, and consider assigning one or two members to a county–school–city work group to help implement the plan if the county includes the slots in its federal application.