KLAMATH FALLS — Klamath Community College kicked off its $1 million capital campaign for the Childcare Learning Center on its campus Thursday, aptly entitled “Acorns to Oaks.”
About 60 officials, dignitaries and the public attended the event and viewed the progress on the center that will create learning spaces for 144 children ages infant to 5. It will be the second largest pre-school facility in all of Oregon and the largest in southern Oregon.
College President Dr. Roberto Gutierrez told the gathering the center has been 8 years in the making, and is key to better economic development for the Klamath Basin.
“Whenever we see a need in the community, we try to help resolve it. The lack of adequate childcare has been hindering working families for too long and has hurt our economic growth.”
KCC partnered with the Oregon Child Development Coalition, which has four separate pre-school sites in the county — including one on the KCC campus —and serves 4,000 children statewide, and with Klamath County to launch the center.
“We sowed the seeds for this project sometime back, but it takes nurturing and working together to see it grow,” Dr. Gutierrez said. “This will go a long way in helping curb the child care desert in Klamath.”
The entire project costs $18.5 million, all funded through grants and donations rather than asking taxpayers to pay for a bond issue. The $1 million community campaign is intended for the community to be involved in the center’s funding. The money will cover some classroom construction costs. The campaign committee has already raised about $200,000 toward the goal.
Donalda Dodson, the chief executive officer of OCDC, said, “About half the eligible children in Klamath are not enrolled in preschool and 67 percent of the population lacks access to adequate childcare. OCDC has been in the Basin 25 years. This project will go a long way in not only helping children, but their parents.”
KCC’s Board of Education Chairman Kenny DeCrans said, “This project is a heavy lift. But in all the years I have known and worked with KCC, it is able to do a project when it matters most.”
Klamath Commissioner Kelley Minty noted, “This project is a game changer. Child care is our biggest need. And we can rely on KCC to get it right.”
The 29,000-square-foot center is expected to open by fall of 2027. In reality, it is two learning centers. It will house 12 classrooms for pre-school children and 2 classrooms for KCC early childhood learning students seeking their teaching certificate. Safety and security are key to the project, with student and staff access on the westside of the building, away from normal vehicle traffic flows. School buses will be able to drop off and pick up students at this safe access point.
The building will also include two playgrounds, a kitchen for nutritious snacks and meals, office space and a large entry lobby.
Diversified Contractors Inc. of Klamath Falls is the general contractor, with some 20 subcontractors expected to work on the building.
Donations can be placed at this link: https://bit.ly/4tbXjfx
For more details on the project itself, see: https://bit.ly/4elwDoQ
For more information about KCC and its programs, visit www.klamathcc.edu.
