HACA poised to select new tenants for Head Start properties; Who might be chosen?
ASHEVILLE - The Housing Authority of Asheville has indicated the anticipated awardees for four of its properties after issuing a request for proposals for early education and childcare programming in the spaces, board documents show.
Three of the buildings — at public housing complexes Pisgah View and Hillcrest, and the Lonnie D. Burton Center — were longtime homes to Head Start programs managed by Community Action Opportunities. Head Start is a federal school readiness program for ages 3 to 5 from families on limited incomes.
A May 6 letter from Community Action's Brian Repass alerting parents that its leases in the buildings were being terminated and an RFP issued, triggered a deluge of fear and frustration. Asheville City Council members were flooded with emails, and parents and educators took to a Housing Authority of the City of Asheville board meeting in May to voice concerns.
In response, housing authority CEO Monique Pierre, who began in April 2023, cited U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines regarding contracts, which she says indicate HACA was out of compliance for not re-bidding the properties every five years and stated she believed there were "underutilized classrooms and space" where the Head Start program resided, the Citizen Times reported in May.
Who are the anticipated awardees?
A request for proposals was opened in April and extended through May 29. There were three responsive applicants. At its July 24 meeting, HACA's board was scheduled to vote to authorize Pierre to enter into contracts with the selections. The board did not meet quorum, and the vote was delayed.
According to the resolution, the anticipated awards are: Hillcrest and Pisgah View to Community Action Opportunities; the Burton Center to Christine Avery Center, an Asheville nonprofit that offers early learning, Pre-K, after school and summer programs; and the Arthur R. Edington Center to Asheville PEAK Academy, a West Asheville charter school created to close the achievement gap between the city's Black and white students.
The Edington Center was formerly home to Asheville City Schools' Education and Career Academy, providing programming for students for whom traditional school is not a match.
ECA has moved into ACS' Randolph campus on Montford Avenue, spokesperson Kim Dechant confirmed July 26, which housed the Montford North Star Academy since 2017. In March, the ACS board voted to consolidate Montford North Star with Asheville Middle School, emptying the Montford building in a decision that devastated parents during an emotional meeting.
When reached by phone July 26, PEAK Board Chair Gene Bell, declined to comment, saying he had not yet seen the contract. Bell is a former director of the housing authority. He retired from a 25-year career with the organization in 2019.
PEAK Executive Director Kidada Wynn did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Wynn is a HACA board member.
HACA response?
A July 24 status report on the child care RFP, included with HACA board documents, said, "Currently, the lease agreements for the respective buildings have been forwarded to our attorneys and are in process." It then names the four prospective awards.
Documents say staff is taking "several steps" to prepare for the new tenants at the Edington Center, including renovations and updates to administrative spaces.
Pierre told the Citizen Times that the process has been "very revealing."
She said the housing authority needed to rebid its properties both to meet federal HUD requirements and to look at "what's best for our communities."
When news of the RFP broke, Pierre said the housing authority was "attacked broadly" in the community.
“And we’re saying to them, No. 1, it’s what we have to do. No. 2, we’ve explained the process thoroughly. No. 3, you have every opportunity to … go through the process and bid just like everybody else. You’re not special, you have to compete, and we have to honor the federal rules and regulations because that’s what the law requires us to do,” Pierre said.
“I’ve very pleased that we honored our obligations, that my team did an awesome job and I’m excited to see us go forward."
When reached July 2 by email, Repass said, "Program-wide our last day for children was June 7. We are unable to make additional comments during the Housing Authority's open procurement process."
Community Action Opportunities runs 20 Head Start locations across Buncombe and Madison counties. The count on its website still includes the Burton Center.
The Housing Authority board is next scheduled to meet Aug. 28.
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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on X, formerly Twitter, at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville housing authority poised to select new childcare tenants
