BCS Employee Daycare 'Bruin Beginnings' Nears Launch

From the Blackford County Schools Board meeting on May 19, 2026

Blackford County Schools' on-site employee daycare program, "Bruin Beginnings," continues preparations for launch with a pre-care licensing application in process and children being signed up as childcare vouchers become available.

The program acquired lightly used equipment — including five cribs, two of which are evacuation cribs, plus shelves and other supplies — from New Beginnings Daycare in Muncie, which closed. The purchase saved the district an estimated "a few thousand dollars." A grant application is also being written through the Community Foundation for startup costs.

Initial enrollment is expected at five to seven children, potentially nine or ten if hourly employees receive voucher approvals. Maximum capacity is approximately 12 children in one room, with appropriate staff ratios of five children per one staff member for infants.

Pricing is set at $30 per day or approximately $150 per week, based on 185 school days only. Employees will not be charged during summer, spring break, or Christmas break. A board member calculated that a teacher currently paying $140 per week year-round elsewhere would save roughly $4,500 per year. The district is promoting the program as a recruitment and retention tool.

Source: YouTube transcript — BCS School Board Meeting, May 19, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.