Daycares get affordable rent in district schools
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times
By: Maria Rantanen
April 11, 2008

Daycare and preschool space is cheap in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows - thanks to school district 42. District staff has calculated the cost of renting school space to early education programs, and their numbers have come out much lower than other comparable districts.

The board of education unanimously passed a motion on Wednesday to offer space for before and after school care and preschools within the school district for a yearly rate of $10,080 or $51 per day.

That works out to about $7.20 per hour per classroom for a seven-hour day.

There is currently only one preschool in SD42's facilities, …and the board voted to increase their rent 30 per cent each year for two years, which will bring them close to the new calculated rates.

The new rates would come into effect at … in the 2009 school year.

Trustee Kathie Ward said at the meeting that a 30-per-cent increase is huge for ….

But assistant superintendent Randy Cranston pointed out $10,000 per year is cheap - some daycares pay four times as much for the space they rent.

Cranston added that the school district could make a lot of money renting daycare space because the demand for school facilities is huge.

Instead the school district has given the lowest rate possible, which is lower than most comparable districts.

The Surrey school district charges $10.50 per hour, and Coquitlam charges $9.25.

Richmond's rates were lower: $6 per hour per classroom this year with 25 cent increases over the next two years.

The Richmond school district collects $150,000 in rent from 31 daycares and preschools in the 37 schools in their district….

The education ministry still has not given a clear answer whether space in schools used by daycares is deemed empty in the school utilization calculation.