Parents of as many as 63 children attending an out-of-school care centre at Rogers Elementary in Saanich will have to find alternatives after the Greater Victoria School District (SD61) ordered the facilityB次元官网网址檚 operators to vacate its location by the end of the school year.
In a letter sent to affected families Tuesday (Feb. 7), school board chair Nicole Duncan confirmed the districtB次元官网网址檚 decision not to renew the licence to occupy agreement with the Rogers Society past June 30.
B次元官网网址淲e are devastated,B次元官网网址� the Rogers Society said in a statement. B次元官网网址淲e feel our voice as not-for-profit caregivers is being ignored and our continued desire to serve the community is disregarded.B次元官网网址�
Executive director Amber McMillan said the society requested a B次元官网网址渃ollaborative conversationB次元官网网址� with SD61, but has yet to receive a clear response.
B次元官网网址淥ur hope was that we would know far more and have more understanding before having to tell parents,B次元官网网址� she told the Saanich B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 very little we can do, and nothing has changed.B次元官网网址�
McMillan said the society has been trying to get an explanation for the districtB次元官网网址檚 decision to cancel its licence, adding that the not-for-profit has operated in the building, built by the district for child care in 1991, adjacent to the elementary school for 32 years.
She said the society, sensing a B次元官网网址渢urning of the tide,B次元官网网址� even reached out to SD61 over a year ago as the province introduced funding changes and the former Ministry of Education was changed to the Ministry of Education and Child Care.
Last year, the province added 132 additional child-care providers B次元官网网址� representing a total of 6,143 spaces B次元官网网址� to its $10 a Day ChildCareBC program.
That includes Lambrick Park Preschool and Childcare in Saanich, which provides 33 spaces.
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But at a time when parents across Greater Victoria are struggling to find affordable child-care space, McMillan said itB次元官网网址檚 hard to understand why the district would shut down the facility without providing any reason.
B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 imagine there not being a void. The child-care industry is not a fast-moving industry,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e licensed with the local health authority and the process you have to go through takes time. To close spaces doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean an operation can immediately spring up in its place B次元官网网址� that would require a reevaluation of the building, and then licensing would have to be involved. So youB次元官网网址檙e definitely talking about a gap, at least, if not a large void.B次元官网网址�
And thatB次元官网网址檚 not including all the services provided at the Rogers Elementary centre, added McMillan. The building is also used for Montessori-run care for children in preschool, the Kitten Mitten childrenB次元官网网址檚 theatre, clothing swaps and an LGBTQ+ support initiative.
In her letter sent to Rogers Elementary families, Duncan said the district will issue a request for proposals from qualified child-care service providers in the coming weeks while an evaluation committee reviews applications.
B次元官网网址淲e are committed to having a provider awarded before spring break and child-care services in place for the new school year in September 2023,B次元官网网址� she wrote.
Duncan did not respond to the Saanich B次元官网网址B次元官网网址� request for comment.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e just being shut out, it feels like,B次元官网网址� said McMillan.
Do you have a story tip? Email: austin.westphal@saanichnews.com.
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