Closures threaten childcare spaces
Cowichan Valley Citizen
February 29, 2008
By: Lexi Bainas

School trustees learned Wednesday night that their talk of closing four elementary schools will cause a child care crunch in the Cowichan Valley.

They were led by Candace Spilsbury, Chair of Social Planning Cowichan, who had figures at her fingertips.

"At least 237 children attending early childhood learning programs and before-and-after-school programs will be directly impacted by the school closures. If the number of family members is taken into account, particularly those involved in the Strong Start family oriented programs, the number is actually much higher," Spilsbury said.

Koksilah, Mill Bay and Tansor Schools all have various child care programs with the heavyweight being Tansor's "Parkside Academy" where there are 66 licensed spaces with another 16 already approved for April of this year. Mill bay offers 24 licensed spaces in its "Among Friends" program and at Koksilah, 38 families are currently registered for "Strong Start."

On top of that, the elementary schools that would receive the children from Mill Bay, Tansor, Koksilah or Somenos Rural Traditional School: Cobble Hill, Alexander, Drinkwater and Maple Bay Elementaries, would all lose their child care services to make room….

With its huge enrolment, closure will cause real hardship in an area with many single-parent or lower income families, according to parents.

Andrea Haugen said she was among those who were "absolutely shocked" to see Tansor listed among small schools slated for closure.

"The pre-school program is so full that the school is now close to capacity. …Tansor PAC Chair Michelle Martin agreed, saying that the board had encouraged the development of child care centres in schools.

"How can the district view this as 'redundant space' when the provincial government is developing early childhood programs?" she asked.

"We should not be on the block for this. Elementary schools were recruited for these programs."

The Parkside program available at Tansor has proven very effective in preparing children for school.

"There's no napping in this facility. Our kids are coming in to Kindergarten five months ahead of schedule in their learning levels."

Martin told the Board that Parkside has said it will close if Tansor closes, which would displace 54-56 families.

"Has this district considered what will happen to these families?"…

"I urge you to speak loudly on that subject to (Education) Minister (Shirley) Bond," she said.