Career Advantage Center headed to Keokuk

ECONOMICS OF CHILD CARE

We often think of childcare as a family issue, but it’s also an economic one. When parents can’t find care, businesses can’t find workers. This proposal takes a proactive step toward addressing both.”

Mike Norris, SIREPA Administrator

SHOVEL-READY

This isn’t a theory. It’s a shovel-ready solution,” she said. “We have a building. We have district support. We have a clear and compelling use case. Now, we just need the resources to make it happen.”

Emily Benjamin, LCDEG President and CEO

MONTROSE – In an unexpected twist, the Lee County Career Advantage Center in Montrose is being moved to Southeastern Community College’s Keokuk campus.
The move was discussed as part of the Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority’s regular meeting Wednesday morning at the Lee County Economic Development Group’s offices in Montrose.
The word pivot was used frequently as SIREPA board members discussed the decision to move the CAC operations, leaving an obvious question with what is now the future of the former KL Megla building that houses LCEDG.
That question was met with a prepared and quickly assembled response from LCEDG President and CEO Emily Benjamin in conjunction with SIREPA Administrator Mike Norris.
And the answer lies in striking at the lack of child care slots and preschool space in the county.
Benjamin and Norris have been working for the past week to cobble together a plan that would create a transitional system linking child care services with day care for three year olds.
“In a pivot from a previously proposed career and technical education center, local leaders have unveiled plans to transform the Montrose facility into the Lee County Early Childhood Education Center,” said Benjamin.
“The center would launch with a countywide, collaborative 3-year-old preschool operated by all three public school districts—Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Central Lee—with future expansion to include infant and toddler care.”
Benjamin said initially they would target 55 slots for three year olds.
The move has prompted LCEDG and SIREPA to submit for a congressional appropriation in 2026 through a revised Community Project Fund application through Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ office.
Norris said conversations with that office have already taken place and staff there is excited about the new proposal.
SIREPA was initially awarded $2 million in CPF funding in 2024 for the CAC, but the funding was derailed when federal budget negotiations removed all CPF allocations. Since then, education and economic development leaders have reassessed community needs—and what emerged was a consensus that childcare access is now the most pressing barrier to workforce participation in Lee County.
“Every employer I talk to says the same thing - they’re struggling to recruit and retain employees,” Benjamin said. “But when you dig deeper, you find many willing parents who simply can’t re-enter the workforce because they don’t have reliable care for their kids. This center is how we fix that.”
Lee County currently ranks #1 in Iowa for child abuse and neglect cases, a harrowing indicator that has shaken local leaders. Combined with the county’s official designation as a childcare desert—with a documented shortage of over 1,600 childcare spaces—the data paints a grim picture.
“We refuse to accept this as our legacy,” she said. “This project sends a message loud and clear: Lee County is not content with being ranked number one in child abuse. We’re taking bold, tangible action to change that trajectory by investing in our youngest citizens.”
Though rooted in care and education, the proposal is deeply economic in nature. A recent U.S. Treasury report titled The Economics of Childcare Supply confirms that inadequate childcare limits economic growth, deters workforce re-entry, and causes parents—especially women—to reduce or forgo employment.
Norris said child care is absolutely an economic issue as well as a family one.
“We often think of childcare as a family issue, but it’s also an economic one,” said Mike Norris, Executive Director of SEIRPC. “When parents can’t find care, businesses can’t find workers. This proposal takes a proactive step toward addressing both.”
Norris said the CPF application would open the door to the project, but isn’t guaranteed.
“If approved, it would provide the critical resources needed to move from vision to reality and give Lee County the tools to build the kind of change our families, workforce, and communities need.”
SIREPA is not new to impactful efforts in Lee County. That group spearheaded the effort to improve broadband service in the county, a move that has now generated close to $35 million in direct fiber investment in the county in just under four years.
Benjamin said a central feature of the plan is its inter-district collaboration. All three public school districts would participate in governance, staffing, and programming, ensuring the center serves the entire county, not just a community. She said the plan also safeguards against open enrollment tensions by making the center neutral in identity and clearly separate from any one district’s brand.
Funding for the shift in priority is still being researched, but Benjamin said multiple entities need to look at the priority of a center like this for Lee County.
“If we want to build a resilient workforce, employers must also examine whether their policies support or hinder working parents,” said Benjamin. “It’s not just about having a facility—it’s about building a system that works for families.”
While major metros have long debated universal pre-K and workforce childcare supports, Benjamin said Lee County’s proposal stands out for its rural practicality.
“This isn’t a theory. It’s a shovel-ready solution,” she said. “We have a building. We have district support. We have a clear and compelling use case. Now, we just need the resources to make it happen.”
Norris said moving the Career Advantage Center to Keokuk makes sense with recent decisions by SCC.
"They have the very same equipment that we were going to buy here existing in Keokuk, they have the space, they have the instructors. Really the Career Center is going to open there with little overhead or cost to the center," he said.
"That's a huge advantage and they have room for expansion out there."
Central Lee Superintendent Dr. Andy Crozier said it's been that district's position for a while that Keokuk's SCC campus made more sense for the CAC.
"Absolutely, that's been our stance for a long time. That facility exists down there and they have the space to expand for some conccurrent programming. Where it ends up in the future - we'll see what the demand is for the students. But it makes logical sense," he said.
And with the Montrose facility within the Central Lee district, Crozier said they will likely take a lead in the preschool programming.
"In the early conversations, Central Lee has spoken up to take a lead, but we really want it to be a collaborative effort between all three schools," Crozier said.
"It makes it a favorable option for parents and people working in that corridor."
If funded, the Lee County Early Childhood Education Center could open its doors in 12–18 months after the appropriation is received, targeting a Fall 2028 open date.