Governor Kim Reynolds (right) visits Dysart’s Little Knights Learning Center’s infant room as part of her Thursday, Jan. 20 tour of the center while teacher Faith Miller (left) rocks a baby during a bottle feeding. -- Photo by Soren M. Peterson

The children of Little Knights Learning Center (LKLC) in Dysart ended their afternoon naptime a bit early last Thursday, Jan. 20 in preparation for an important visitor to their rural child care center – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Gov. Reynolds (R-Iowa) made the trek to Tama County from Des Moines as part of her ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of child care across Iowa’s communities – whether they be urban, suburban, or rural – while also touting the recommendations of her Child Care Task Force Report which was released in November 2021.

The visit kicked off with a quick tour of LKLC’s brand new facility which opened in July 2021 as part of a $1.4 million herculean fundraising effort on the part of the center’s Board of Directors.

During the tour, Gov. Reynolds passed from room to room, holding what can only be described as a meet-and-greet with the center’s babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, many of whom stared in bewilderment at the governor and the trail of adults accompanying her including a KCRG camera crew.

Following the tour, Gov. Reynolds spent about 20 minutes chatting with and asking questions of Board President Wanda Petersen, Dysart Mayor Tim Glenn, Union Superintendent Travis Fleshner, and several members of LKLC’s board of directors in the center’s before-and-after-school care room.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-Iowa) displays a map of 2021 Child Care Challenge Fund Grant recipients during her visit to the Little Knights Learning Center in Dysart on Thursday, Jan. 20. -- Photo by Soren M. Peterson

Petersen – who is also a board member of the nonprofit Dysart Development Corporation – opened the discussion by sharing how LKLC arrived at its current location just around the corner from Dysart-Geneseo Elementary School.

“Our story is – I don’t know how far back to go, we’ll go to 2017 – I received a text from my daughter-in-law that our 15-month-old grandson was going to lose his daycare and the daycares we had in [Dysart] at the time were all full,” Petersen began.

Petersen detailed the path the community embarked on to bring a child care center to town – a path that involved the school district, the City of Dysart, Farmers Coop Telephone Company, and many other local individuals and partners.

Today LKLC’s 85 child care slots are the only child care option in Dysart and most of its rooms have a waiting list including the infant room which is full for the next year.

“We’re just trying to highlight, recognize, and lift up a community that can come together and recognize the need [for child care],” Gov. Reynolds told the gathered group following her tour. “It’s such a great recruitment tool for your businesses, for your schools, for parents to locate [to the community].”

Little Knights Learning Center (LKLC) Board President Wanda Petersen (left), board member Dawn Stoakes (right), and her 2-year-old daughter pose proudly next to the center’s completed $1.4 million capital campaign fundraising thermometer in the child care facility’s entryway on Thursday, Jan. 20. Petersen was able to fill in the final portion of the thermometer with red ink following the announcement LKLC had received over $600,000 in Iowa Dept. of Human Services child care grant funding. -- Photo by Soren M. Peterson

Later in the conversation, Gov. Reynolds asked what the biggest challenges are for LKLC going forward to which Petersen replied: “What always has been a challenge and still is a challenge is to get workers. Get staff.”

Gov. Reynolds – above the din of children shrieking in the hallway – responded by mentioning an early childhood education apprenticeship pilot program for high schoolers currently underway in Council Bluffs.

“We’re not going to be able to wait very long … or we’re going to all be in bigger trouble,” Petersen replied as part of the discussion.

“I don’t care what industry it is, it is the biggest challenge we face right now,” Gov. Reynolds said of Iowa’s workforce shortage.

The topic of child care workers’ low pay and how to balance that without significantly raising the cost of child care for parents was also brought up by the group.

“I am here because you guys were recognized as being a true leader,” Gov. Reynolds said in her closing comments.

Child-staff ratio requirements legislation

Prior to leaving the center, Gov. Reynolds was asked by the Telegraph to comment on legislation currently working its way through the Iowa House that would raise the maximum child-staff ratio requirements in Iowa child care centers. The legislation is being sponsored by House Republicans as a possible permanent solution to both the need for more child care slots and more child care workers.

The proposed legislation would allow a maximum ratio of staff to children of 1:8 in a 2-year-old room – a change from the current regulation of one staff member for every six children. The legislation would also allow a ratio of 1:10 in a 3-year-old room – a change from the current regulation of one staff member for every eight three-year-olds.

“It brings us more in line even with what other states are doing,” Gov. Reynolds responded. “We’re way out of line as far as the ratio goes.”

As part of her response, Gov. Reynolds shared a table listing the current child-staff ratio requirements in Iowa compared to other states.

Raising the 2-year-old child-staff ratio to one staff member for every seven or more children would put Iowa in line with at least 9 other states, according to the governor’s data, while raising the 3-year-old child-staff ratio to one staff member for every 10 children or more would put Iowa in line with 41 other states.

“It’s an option,” Gov. Reynolds further explained. “[Child care centers] don’t have to do this.”

The legislation draws directly from the list of recommendations made by the governor’s Child Care Task Force Report.

Members of the task force included representatives from across the business community including Sukup Manufacturing and Wells Fargo, municipalities, community development organizations, the Iowa Women’s Foundation, and child care providers including both center and home providers.

Current lobbyist declarations registered in support of the legislation include the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and the Iowa Alliance of YMCA’s.

Lobbyist declarations registered against the legislation include the labor unions Iowa United Professionals/UE and AFSCME Iowa Council 61, Save the Children Action Network, United Ways of Iowa, United Way of Central Iowa, Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, and Common Good Iowa.

Several chambers of commerce including the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce as well as the Association of Early Childhood Iowa Area Boards and Advocates, Iowa Head Start Association, the League of Women Voters, and several other lobbyist groups remain undecided in their support of the legislation as of publication.

LKLC achieves its fundraising goal

Prior to the governor’s visit, Little Knights Learning Center received notice it had received two Iowa Department of Human Services grant awards including the Child Care Challenge Grant Award in the amount of $250,000 and the Investment by Iowans through the Child Care Challenge Grant Award in the amount of $389,830.

The $639,830 in total grant awards put the center’s fundraising efforts over the top and completed LKLC’s $1.4 million capital campaign.

According to LKLC Board President Wanda Petersen, the funds will be used to help pay building loans – which were secured from both the City of Dysart and Farmers Coop Telephone Company – and build the outdoor playground which includes three separate play areas for different ages, fencing, and shade tarps.