No portable for Herbert Spencer day care: School trustees agree to leave day-care centre at Glenbrook Middle School
The Record -- New Westminster
28 Oct 2006
By: Alfie Lau

EXCERPT

Herbert Spencer Elementary's Treasure Island Day Care will continue operating out of Glenbrook Middle School after school trustees voted 5-1 against moving a portable from Queensborough to accommodate the day care.

Trustee Lori Watt argued passionately for the portable because the 20 Spencer students in the day care have spent the first six weeks of the school year shuttling between the two schools.

"This isn't rocket science," Watt told fellow trustees. "I believe we need to provide quality child care to students. I understand space is a concern, but I believe this is the most ideal solution."

The day care, run by the Westminster Children's After School Society, found out this summer that the space they had been using at Spencer was being converted back to a music room. After meetings with school district officials in late August, a decision to house the Spencer students at neighbouring Glenbrook for the month of September was supposed to give both sides the time to find a more permanent solution.

Trustees voted against Watt's proposal because they deemed the day care not a core educational need.

"The agreement we have with the day care is we provide space if there is space available," said trustee Ken McDonald.

"Reluctantly, I will speak against the motion because ... I don't support $20,000 for a non-educational facility. Our mandate is education, not the subsidizing of a day care."

Trustee Brent Atkinson concurred.

"I'm concerned about the precedent-setting nature of putting a portable (at Spencer) for a day care," he said. "We have a growing enrolment at this school and our mandate, unfortunately, is not to put a portable on the site for a day care because we are not funded for it. ... We are funded for educational needs.

"I'm not happy with this decision, but that's my reasoning."

The night began with presentations from the after-school society's executive director Cam Milliken and several parents with children in the day care.

Milliken pointed out that the popular day care has a three-year waiting list, with approximately 200 children on that list, and that it was imperative that the day care have a place within Spencer.

"At first, there was no real difference," Milliken said. "But, after six weeks, we're beginning to feel stress. ... Transportation between Spencer and Glenbrook takes time, and integrating such diverse age groups has been challenging."

He added that, with 40 students from kindergarten to middle-school-age students all in the same room, differences in noise levels, homework loads and activities have been problematic.

Milliken said the society was prepared to make a "one-time offer" of covering half the $20,000 cost of moving the portable from Queensborough, a move he believed would benefit both the society and the school district.

"If you're going to have to put a portable there eventually, then today, we want to help you do that," said Milliken.

After Spencer parents gave Milliken a rousing ovation, several took the opportunity to tell trustees first-hand stories of their children's experiences at Glenbrook.

"My daughter is suffering," said Peter Mussenden of his Grade 5 daughter. "These problems really exist. I'm worried about the safety of our kids." He added that with so many younger kids in the same day care, her daughter is losing focus while doing homework.

Melanie Olsen, with a daughter in Grade 2 and a son in Grade 4, related the story of how her son didn't want to spend a recent professional development day at Glenbrook because the activities the middle school children there were doing were not conducive to his learning.

Watt could not hide her disappointment at not being able to sway even one trustee to her side.

"Here we have a $50-million budget and I'm hearing comments that about $20,000 that (the after-school society) is willing to pay for," said Watt. "I find that argument ridiculous at best.

"My own child is in a day care so I understand the educational value of having kids in a day care. ... I'm really disappointed. I did what I thought was right and I look forward to working with the day care to find a solution."

Watt was the lone vote supporting the move of a portable....