The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has decided it is in its best interest to no longer sponsor Homer Community School (alleviating the administration responsibilities), but will continue the agreement of allowing the programs to continue to use the KPBSD facilities and fields at no cost.
At the present time, the city of Homer annually pays for half the cost for the coordinator to run the HCS program. This contribution is $27,000 (salary and benefits) for a full-time, nine-month program and a part-time summer program (25 hours per week). The remaining expenses for the program are generated through user fees, donations and fund-raising.
There is a current proposal to Homer City Council members to decide if the city of Homer should take over responsibility (administration) of this program. This means that the Homer Community School coordinator would become a city employee and the city would agree to budget the full salary and benefits for this position.
At the same time, HCS will continue to generate and collect fees from classes and programs with the continuing goal of covering half of the cost of the coordinator expense.
This is a great opportunity for the city of Homer to officially create a municipal recreational program, reflecting the consistent voices of community members in support of our continuing support for the recreational and educational programs. The city of Homer has a Parks and Recreation Commission, which has recommended to the council members to consider converting the HCS program into a full-time, city-funded entity.
In essence, Homer Community School is the recreational program of Homer. There has been a consistent community concern of having “things to do” particularly for our youth and teens as a deterrent to illicit behavior. The statistics from fall 2004 to summer 2005 show that 2,898 Homer Community School participants were from the 1-19 age group. HCS offers many things to do, and we have many kids participating, thus reflecting the popularity and significance of our existing programs that are already in place to serve this community need.
This program makes fiscal sense. The city is able to provide a recreational and educational program with zero cost for facility use, utilities, maintenance, snow removal, etc. while having access to multi-million dollar facilities and fields through KPBSD.
HCS has proven it is able to generate enough revenue to cover the cost of its lone employee, the coordinator, thus subjecting the city to pay for just half of the position. HCS provides many benefits and quality of life components beyond numbers and financial reports.
Simply stated, we cannot afford not to have Homer Community Schools. Please feel free to call if you have any questions.
I would also like to acknowledge our many volunteers and instructors with a profound “thank you.” The amount of time, knowledge and passion given to the HCS program is simply immeasurable.
Michael C. Illg is coordinator of Homer Community School. He can be reached at 235-6090.
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