By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Shuffling up the sidewalk to what used to be the Community Clubhouse, a visitor notices two things, immediately. First, there is a new sign over the entry way, identifying the building as the “Blowing Rock Academy.” Then there is another sign on the door: “Welcome to the Fox Den.”
In the works for well over a year, the Blowing Rock Academy is the new childcare center for town employees. It was championed by former-town-manager-becoming-the-new-town-manager, Shane Fox, as an important municipal tool for hiring and retaining employees. So, said Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Brown, “It is only fitting that we named it after Shane Fox.”
The impetus for the initiative was in response to the closure of many area child care centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lack of affordable child care is not just a personal or family issue,” said Fox at the March 12 ribbon cutting to celebrate the Academy’s opening. “It is an economic issue. The ability to provide on-site child care to the employees of the Town of Blowing Rock is not only the right thing to do, it is a top retention and recruitment tool for the Town.”
In greeting the various people gathered for the ceremony, Mayor Charlie Sellers noted one of the lessons he learned in business: offer good products, take care of your customers, and take care of your employees.
Affordable child care is not just a personal or family issue. It is an economic issue.
“If you don’t take care of your employees,” said Sellers, “then you no longer have a business.”
Brown, who shepherded the project to completion over the last year, told Blowing Rock News in an interview that the typical cost of daycare per child is approximately $1,000 per month. The Blowing Rock Academy will cost a part-time employee $200 per month and a full-time employee $400 per month.
Separately, Fox explained that the Town will be subsidizing child care as an employee benefit at roughly $100,000 per year.
“The money comes out of the General Fund just like other employee benefits. That’s roughly the cost to the Town of a police officer when you factor in training and equipment along with the salary,” said Fox. “So if we keep just one employee from leaving or attract just one new employee where needed, then the program has paid for itself.”
As of the ribbon-cutting, eight children are attending the Academy with two more on the way. Fox said there are other employees taking a “wait and see” approach as they evaluate whether to start bringing their children to the new facility — or waiting for a long-term contract to run its course.
“The Academy can accommodate up to 30 children,” said Fox.
“Those 10 children already set to take advantage represent Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Public Works, Park and Recreation, Landscaping, Administration, and more,” said Fox. “The employees that have children in the center represent a total of over $750,000 in salary and benefits and 10 positions within the town that would have to be recruited and filled if the employee decided to leave because of child care issues.”
In his remarks to those gathered for the ceremony, Fox did not mince words.
“This is a game-changer,” he said. “We may be one of the few municipalities offering this now, but others have noticed.”
In reality, the Blowing Rock Academy addresses a larger problem, too: the scarcity of child care facilities especially after COVID-19 forced many to become shuttered.
Said Brown, reflecting on the fact that many young families are two-income families with both mother and father working: “In Watauga County, there are approximately 2,000 children under five years old but there are only about 1,000 child care slots. In North Carolina, almost 50 percent of families live in areas that have been designated as child care ‘deserts’ where there is little or no access to child care services. In 2022, over 400,000 parents across North Carolina say they have had to miss work because of a lack of child care options.”
But the child care crisis is not just in Watauga County and North Carolina. ReadyNation, part of the Council for a Strong America, suggests that the nation’s infant-toddler child care crisis is estimated at $122 billion — and growing — in lost earnings, productivity and revenue each year. In North Carolina, that number is approximately $3.5 billion.
Some other talking points about the issue:
- A recent WBTV (Charlotte) story suggests that an increasing number of employers are looking to look at on-site child care options for their employees.
- A recent survey by the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce showed that 77 percent of voters believe that child care is a problem. Findings:
- 26 percent of parents with children five years old and under left the workforce in the past year
- 37 percent refused a job opportunity, promotion, or job change because of lack of affordable child care.
- Sixty percent (60%) of parents with children five years old and under said they had to miss work because of a problem with child care.
- 37 percent of parents with children five and under refused a job opportunity, promotion, or job change because it would increase child care expenses.
- 32 percent of parents with children 5 and under did not pursue job training or continuing education because of a lack of affordable child care.
“As I said before,” said Fox. “The Blowing Rock Academy is a gamechanger for us.”
