Childcare funding for some parents in Sarasota County will end Oct. 1 [Video]

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Sarasota County Commissioners decided to cut half a million dollars in funding to the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County. The commission said the agency didn’t meet the “safety criteria.”

The county has funded the ELC for 20 years. In a public meeting on June 5, commissioners talked about funding for certain agencies that applied.

Commissioner Mark Smith argued the ELC is a “vital program that’s very successful” and even asked the CEO Janet Kahn to speak to the board and explain why funding the ELC is so crucial to safety in the community.

Kahn said if the Early Learning Coalition didn’t meet the county’s safety criteria, then there should be several other agencies that don’t either. But, in the end, commissioners decided to ax the funding.

Kahn said the funding is used to help about 300 families within the community. She said these are people working in jobs at the county, the school district, first responders or at the hospital.

“These are families that don’t qualify …