By: TONY MARKS
Associate Editor
School readiness tax credits was the topic of discussion at the Chamber of Commerce and Evangeline Parish Tourism noon meeting on Wednesday.
Rae Gremillion and Angelle Floyd with Volunteers of America spoke about ways the program is helping in early childhood education by being a partner in child care. “These partnerships in child care started with the state deciding that it wanted to level out the playing field for children going into school,” said Gremillion.
This partnership is geared to assist children attending Type 3 child care centers. According to Floyd, these centers “accept child care assistance which is the state/federal funding for families who are in school or working and are at the poverty level.”
The goal of the program, according to Floyd, is “to have every child Kindergarten ready when they enter Kindergarten.”
“What we do as Volunteers of America is our program goes into these Type 3 centers and help coach, teach, and train them to get their teachers to a level that’s equivalent to what the children are receiving in a public Pre-K or in a head start program,” she continued. “To do that we have to have some funding.”
According to Gremillion, this funding comes from school readiness tax credits. These tax credits apply to money businesses donate to resource and referral agencies such as Volunteers of America.
“It’s a tax credit dollar for dollar off of your tax liability if you donate to a resource and referral component of this,” Gremillion said. “If you’re a business, you can donate up to $5,000.00 to a resource and referral partnership in childcare center and get that dollar for dollar off of your tax liability.”
“The money goes back to your parish,” she added. “Every dollar that is donated to partnerships in childcare in Evangeline Parish is going to stay in Evangeline Parish. Every childcare center is going to reap the benefits of your donation.”
Floyd then made a plea to business owners here in the parish. “A lot of times Evangeline Parish gets left behind,” she stated. “We have not received a single tax dollar in Evangeline Parish because nobody wants to get aboard. I want to bring things to Evangeline Parish and help the kids here, but I can’t do that unless I have the community support to get on board with this tax credit.”
In other business Chamber President William “Tojo” Ward announced different events coming up in the parish.
New UL-L Athletic Director Bryan Maggard on June 27 will be visiting several sites in Evangeline Parish such as KVPI, the Rotary Club, the Swamp Pop Museum, Slap Ya Mama, T Boy’s, the Hotel Cazan, and the Crawfish Barn. Ward said, “He’s a pretty excitable guy, and all the alumni and fans should try to touch base with him when they see him.”
A book signing will then be held July 14 and July 15 at the Cazan Hotel in Mamou. Todd Elliott will be on hand to sign copies of his new books A Rose by Any Other Name and Dr. Mary’s Monkeys. According to Ward, “A Rose by Any Other Name is an Evangeline Parish take on the JFK Assassination, and Dr. Mary’s Monkeys is about some monkey experimentation by some of the most prominent physicians in New Orleans in the Warehouse District.”
Ward also announced that there will be a ribbon cutting on June 30 at Luna Claire’s on Main Street across from Sacred Heart. He said, “They will be specializing in skin care and clothes.”