1/22/2009 6:04:00 AM
Starr Commonwealth lays off employees
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BY KIRK DOUGAL
Times Bulletin Editor
kdougal@timesbulletin.com
In another sign of the local effects of the economy being in a recession, the Starr Commonwealth and Montcalm School for Girls has laid off 10 employees locally and another unspecified number of employees corporate-wide.
"Based on the number of students that we have, we have just gotten too low in our census," said Kelly Jones of Starr Commonwealth in Van Wert, "and that is entirely based upon the economy."
The number of boys at Starr Commonwealth has held steady at almost full capacity. In Montcalm, however, there are only nine girls currently on campus while the Van Wert facility has room for two full cottages of students. As the economy has worsened over the past few months, the number of girls in attendance has dwindled to the point where the lay offs were necessary.
This is a situation that has occurred around the Starr Commonwealth system and not just in Van Wert. While the boys at Starr Commonwealth are appointed by the courts, the Montcalm School for Girls is a volunteer program and is paid for by the families. So with the economy in dire straits, fewer can afford the expense of the boarding at Montcalm.
Jones went on to say, however, that this is not a permanent situation. If the number of girls on campus begins to climb again, then the school would certainly be looking to increase their staff to previous numbers.
"We are hoping that these are temporary layoffs and we want to recall staff as soon as the census numbers warrant it," she said. "Our goal is to get our census back up and figure out what populations we want to utilize in our open cottages."
Founded in 1913, Starr Commonwealth is an internationally recognized non-profit children's charity, working for the betterment of children, families and professionals. In 1951 while looking to expand the Starr Commonwealth, Floyd Starr purchased a property in Van Wert known as the Auglaise Gardens from Harry Beckman. Beckman was known as the Midwest's "Peony King" and the former Beckman home is now the chapel for the campus.
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