Macon-Bibb EOC out as Head Start provider

The Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council appears to be out after 36 years as administrator of the Bibb and Monroe County Head Start programs.

There’s no indication that the program will cease, only that the provider will change.

The agency provided a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice to Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert’s office last week. The notice offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide substantial notice in advance of plant closings or mass layoffs.

That came on the heels of the EOC learning that it had lost its status as Head Start provider, according to a letter from the mayor to Blanca Enriquez, director of Head Start’s national office.

“I would like to request that you reconsider the recommendation to change providers because of the adverse economic impact and disruption of an important service to the children, families and our community,” Reichert wrote.

The EOC has about 150 employees and serves more than 800 children. A WARN Act notice suggests that those jobs are in jeopardy with the grant changing providers, but no new provider was named.

Besides concerns with potential unemployment and the disruption of services, Reichert expressed his support for the EOC’s work as provider for the Head Start program.

“The program is highly successful and conveniently located in multiple neighborhood schools,” he wrote. “Also, it has multiple community partners that provide additional opportunities and services.”

While no official word was given for the move, a letter from Lonnie Miley, president of the EOC’s board of directors, to Head Start’s regional office addressed a 2013 review that found several “issues that needed to be corrected” within the organization.

“Please understand my confusion of this decision, we took immediate action and corrected all noted concerns from the Regional Office, including all areas of deficiencies and non-compliance,” Miley wrote.

Those issues included a “top-heavy” administrative structure and insufficient salaries for program staff.

Miley said in his letter that the administrative staff had been trimmed and that program staff members’ salaries had been increased almost 30 percent “to become more competitive.”

The letter also indicated that the council was notified April 21 that it would not be getting the program back for the 2015-16 school year.

The EOC’s board and Executive Director Sarita Hill released a statement on Wednesday that said otherwise, however, noting that the council “remains committed” to the Head Start program.

“Macon-Bibb County EOC Inc. cannot comment on the Head Start/Early Head Start grant for the fiscal year 2016,” the statement said. “The Office of Head Start has not announced the awarded recipients of the grant.”

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb EOC out as Head Start provider ."