By Maya Betti, News Intern
On Monday, we discussed how Northfield’s Community Education program is experiencing some exciting growth, with increasing participation and new initiatives underway.
At last month’s school board meeting, Community Education Director Erin Bailey highlighted the surge in demand, with over 11,000 program participants and more than a million hours of facility use in the past year.
But behind the success, budget challenges are surfacing—especially for Early Ventures, the district’s infant and toddler care program.
The federal childcare stabilization funds, which helped centers stay afloat during the pandemic, have shifted to state control. And, unlike before, all of that money must go straight to employee wages instead of some it going to the organization itself. Meanwhile, revenues are only slightly up, mostly from fees, and pupil-based aid is shrinking, in part thanks to declining birthrates.
According to Bailey, the growing enrollment just isn’t enough to keep the budget balanced, especially when it comes to Early Ventures, Northfields infant and toddler care program,.
“Last year, an infant slot at Early Ventures cost $16,000. And at the same time, the median household income in Northfield was about $73,000. So the math is hard, right? We couldn’t come anywhere near the state guidance that childcare should cost only seven percent of income, if you had one child at child care you know where we’re looking at families who often time have more than one child at” – Erin Baily, Director of Community Education at the 5/12/2025 School Board Meeting
Bailey and her team have explored solutions, including sliding-scale pricing and other income-based options. But any changes could impact families deeply, and, according to Bailey, she wants the community’s feedback before continuing to make changes.
“The reimbursement rates between Dakota County and Rice County are drastically different. It puts our economically challenged families in a tough spot.” – Erin Baily, Director of Community Education at the 5/12/2025 School Board Meeting
Despite the challenges, outcomes for this past school year were strong. Ninety-three percent of Early Ventures students were kindergarten-ready this year.
As Northfield looks ahead, the Community Education program is determined to keep evolving to local needs.
“When you start talking about people’s childcare, it’s a pretty personal thing. We want to review this with a host of people because whatever decision we make—it’s going to have an impact.” – Erin Baily, Director of Community Education at the 5/12/2025 School Board Meeting
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