New early childhood center in the works for Marshfield after voters approve bond issue

MARSHFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Voters approved an $8.5-million bond issue to fund a new early childhood center in Marshfield.

Plans to break ground on the new preschool facility are set for July.

”I’m very excited. I think it will benefit the community. We will be able to serve double the amount of kids we do now,” said preschool parent Sara Rust.

The new preschool building will have eight classrooms for preschool and four dedicated to early childhood special education.

“What we’re excited about is part of this early childhood center is a safe room. We will be able to house all of the children in our primary building, which is Hubble Elementary, and all of the students and staff in the early childhood facility. So in the event of severe weather, they don’t have to go across a parking lot, they can be safe inside their building,” said Assistant Superintendent Mike Henry.

“The equipment will be all appropriate for their age level, whereas now, we have little things we have to adjust a little bit. Everything in that building will be for that age level,” said Rust.

Marshfield’s current preschool center houses 130 preschoolers with 40 more on a waiting list. When the new building is completed, students will be able to come to school.

“We just continue to get great community support. Marshfield is a town like many in southwest Missouri where it feels like the school is the hub of the community,” said Henry.

The new preschool building will have eight classrooms for preschool and four dedicated to early childhood special education. It will also have space for the parents as teachers program, a kitchen, and a room for speech and physical.

“That early childhood focus for us, what we see in that is, that is the smallest window to have the greatest impact on education. So we can get our students in and make sure that they are receiving developmentally appropriate education and preparing them for kindergarten because we know all of the brain development that happens in that birth-five-year-old time period. To make sure that our students are getting exposed to as much as they can during that time period is very critical.”

The bond does add to the district’s debt, but will not cause an increase in property taxes. The district plans to have the project completed by August 2022.

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