We’re pleased to share that the School Board voted yesterday to delay the decision to outsource the Voyager Program to the YMCA. This delay is a direct result of your support, and we are truly grateful.

Several parents, including myself, along with the Voyager directors, spoke to the Board to express our concerns—and we were heard. However, the delay is only two weeks, which means our work is far from over.

Based on last night’s meeting and the questions that remain unanswered, I’ve added a new action item to our task list. We ask that you continue sharing this petition with other Centerville families to increase visibility and email the board members. Most importantly, we urge you to participate in upcoming YMCA meetings so we can voice our questions and concerns directly.

Your continued engagement is critical—thank you for standing with us.

1. Request for Timely and Accessible Meeting with YMCA Administrators
   We respectfully demand that a public meeting with YMCA administrators be scheduled prior to any board vote on this matter. This meeting must be organized with careful attention to the K–5 school calendar to avoid conflicts with other major events, such as Fine Arts night. Parents should not be forced to choose between supporting their children and participating in discussions that directly affect their families. We urge the administration to notify all parents via email about this meeting and to provide at least two possible date options to maximize community participation.

 

2.     Clarity on Staffing: We ask for a clear breakdown of what percentage of current Voyager staff will be retained if the program transitions to the YMCA. Many of these staff members have built lasting relationships with our children and contribute significantly to the program’s high quality.

Superintendent: The YMCA would like to hire all current Voyager staff to maintain these relationships in the community with children and families. This message has been stated several times and was clearly stated by members of the YMCA. During the parent meeting, this was acknowledged by Voyager Directors, who stated that every staff member plans to return, except for those retiring or moving on due to personal life situations.

 

Rebuttal: It is accurate that the directors and YMCA representatives stated their intention to hire all current Voyager staff. However, despite these assurances, some parents have heard directly from Voyager staff members who expressed uncertainty about whether they will return under the YMCA, this is where the concerns originally stemmed from. Some staff have indicated that they do not plan to continue next year. While this may not represent all teachers, this uncertainty is the root of the parental concern that needs to be addressed.

Moreover, important follow-up questions remain unanswered:

·      What will the transition process look like?

·      When will the hiring process be finalized?

·      When and how will parents be notified about which staff members have officially signed contracts to stay, and if new staff are being hired?

These are critical pieces of information that directly impact families' decisions about continuing in the program. Additionally, during the April 22nd meeting, I learned from another parent that Voyager teachers' service time under YMCA employment would no longer count toward their pension. If this is accurate, it raises significant concerns about staff retention.

·      When will the Voyager staff be able to review the contract?

·      You mentioned that the current staff will be eligible for similar or even better pay based on their years of service and level of education? Has the YMCA identified how many of the current are eligible for these pay raises? 

·      What other benefits will YMCA offer to ensure these valued staff members are retained? 

Staff stability is critical to maintaining the program’s quality, and these issues must be transparently addressed before moving forward. Families deserve clear, specific assurances—not just broad intentions—about staffing decisions that impact their children’s daily lives.

 

 

3.     Transparent Cost Structure: Parents deserve to know if initial fees under the YMCA will remain stable or if we should expect annual increases. Uncertainty in costs could make this program inaccessible to some families over time. 

Superintendent: The YMCA offers a cost structure for families that is lower than the one charged by the district. The addition of the hourly rate option will provide families with the opportunity to pay significantly less for care, depending on their usage. The YMCA program will be licensed by the state of Ohio, making it more accessible to families, as those who receive public funds from the state are eligible to attend. Additionally, the YMCA offers discounts to families for siblings, first responders, military personnel, and other eligible groups. If families are unable to utilize any of the above-mentioned financial assistance avenues, YMCA scholarships are available to those in need, as the YMCA does not turn anyone away due to an inability to pay. Lastly, once the sites are officially licensed, the YMCA will be able to begin the process of applying to become a Child Care Aware provider, serving military families through a federal subsidy program.

 

Rebuttal:
We appreciate the additional information regarding fee structures. For clarity, during your April 21st presentation, you compared annual costs of $3,165 for Voyager to $3,040 for the YMCA program. Can we confirm that these figures are based on full-time usage (Monday through Friday, 2:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.)? Clarifying this will help parents accurately assess the financial implications.

While the concept of paying only for hours used (as mentioned by the current YMCA administrator) sounds appealing in theory, it raises significant operational concerns. Specifically:

·      How will the YMCA administration accurately predict daily staffing needs without knowing exactly how many children will be present each day?

·      Will Voyager parents be required to "clock in and out" to track usage?

This uncertainty has serious implications for the required teacher-to-student ratios mandated by Ohio licensing standards. Without a set schedule or predictable attendance patterns, it becomes much harder to ensure that proper staffing ratios are consistently met.

Reliable staffing and clear expectations are essential for both child safety and program quality. We urge the administration to fully explain how variable attendance will be managed without compromising licensing requirements or the day-to-day functioning of the program.

 

 

4.     Verified Financial Data: On Monday 21st Superintendent Wesney presented slides only highlighting broadly the reduction in work and responsibilities of the district (i.e., payroll, liability insurance, utilities, custodial). But we ask for detailed, verifiable data showing how much money the district expects to save by outsourcing the program, both short-term and long-term. Numbers should be publicly available and open to scrutiny. 

Superintendent: There is a cost of doing business, and sometimes it’s difficult to give exact numbers. For example, it’s impossible to quantify the cost of water, gas, and electricity. Another example is that we provide payroll services to 50 employees. A staff member from the treasurer’s office is paid hourly to manage payroll, including checks, taxes, and W-2s, for the 50 employees. The same concept applies to workers' compensation, as someone from the district must manage accident reports, disability claims, calculate work hours, and determine temporary substitute needs for the employee. Additionally, the district manages all purchasing items for the Voyager program. This plan and partnership will provide much-needed additional staffing for two hours per day in each of our elementary buildings to support principals during lunch and recess. This benefit is worth approximately $60,000 per year.

Rebuttal: While we understand that precise numbers may be difficult to calculate, we respectfully disagree with the idea that no estimates can be provided.
When the district was working to pass the recent levy, careful financial estimates were developed and presented to the public to justify the need for additional funding. Similarly, the district should now be able to provide reasonable financial estimates related to the Voyager program. For example, during levy presentations—which I attended—various expenditure categories were presented. However, it was not made clear where or how the Voyager program's costs were categorized in those breakdowns. Transparency now is just as important as it was then.

 

At a minimum, we ask the district to provide approximate estimates of the following:

·      Total annual revenue received from the 350 families participating in the Voyager program.

·      Total cost of Voyager staff salaries and benefits.

·      Cost of materials and supplies for Voyager activities.

·      If the Y is using the same facilities, it would seem that there is no savings there unless they are compensating the school for the use of the facilities?

·      Same for custodial costs specifically associated with after-school operations, inherently this would be the same cost to district.

·      Number of additional hours staff in the treasurer’s office spend on Voyager payroll, W-2s, taxes, and the corresponding cost.

·      Number of hours and associated cost related to managing workers’ compensation claims for Voyager employees.

 

We simply ask for the same standard of financial transparency that was expected of voters during the levy campaign.

 

5.     Respecting the Levy Vote: Last fall, our community passed a school levy under the understanding that the Voyager program would remain unchanged. Making this change now feels like a betrayal of the trust and goodwill of the voters who supported the levy.

Superintendent: Regarding the levy vote, we are not closing the after-school program. We are offering options for a partnership that can enhance the program for students, parents, the district, and the community. There is no downside to this plan, only benefits and enhancements. We are following our Strategic Plan to meet the needs of our students and community. The options outlined by the YMCA will provide a cost savings to the District, and the benefits far outweigh the current programming.

 

Rebuttal: With all due respect, stating that you are "offering options" is misleading. In reality, parents are not being given a choice between continuing with the existing Voyager program under district management or moving to the YMCA model. This is not an option—it is a mandate. Families are simply being told that the program will be outsourced to the YMCA, regardless of their concerns or objections.

 

Further, your assertion that there is "no downside" is inaccurate. There are clear and serious downsides:

·      Loss of direct oversight: Once Voyager is outsourced to a private third-party entity like the YMCA, parents will have limited ability to raise concerns or seek accountability through the district.

·      Reduced transparency: The program will no longer be governed by the same public policies, procedures, and protections that apply to district-run programs.

·      Loss of community trust: Voters were never informed during the levy campaign that longstanding district programs like Voyager could be outsourced to outside organizations. This lack of transparency undermines the trust that parents and taxpayers placed in district leadership when they supported the levy.

 

While technically the after-school service is not being eliminated, outsourcing fundamentally alters its nature and its governance, and parents deserve acknowledgment of this reality—not euphemistic language suggesting a "partnership." 

Until these questions are answered fully and honestly, it is difficult for families to see this action as anything other than a serious breach of trust.

 

6.     Concerns About Quality: Many families are concerned that the YMCA’s after-school programs are often staffed by younger, less-experienced employees compared to the seasoned, dedicated team currently running Voyager. This could impact the quality and consistency of care that our children receive. 

Superintendent: The YMCA would like to retain the current Voyager leaders and all Voyager staff to continue operating the program under the same leadership and staffing currently in place, and to enhance the program through the addition of new resources. The YMCA hires supplemental staff from high school and college to enhance the value of an already high-quality program and provide additional supervision. We find that this allows children to have more opportunities each day to choose from a larger selection of student-led activities and helps lower ratios when children attending have that need. It also allows high school students and college students to gain valuable experience working with children, which we hope will encourage more young people to enter careers in education - A GREAT opportunity for our high school’s Early Childhood Education Program. 

 

Rebuttal:
While we support the goal of creating experiential learning opportunities for high school and college students, the primary focus must remain on providing consistent, high-quality care and supervision for the children currently enrolled in the Voyager program. Young, inexperienced workers, without sufficient training or close supervision, can unintentionally compromise the level of care and safety that families have come to expect. If high school and college students are to be used as supplemental staff, there must be clear safeguards in place:

·      Professional, experienced staff should always outnumber and supervise student workers.

·      Student workers must receive thorough training before working independently with children.

·      Staff-to-student ratios should be maintained at levels that prioritize safety and quality, not just coverage.

In short, while expanding opportunities for young workers is valuable, it cannot come at the expense of the stability, safety, and educational enrichment that the Voyager program has historically provided.