Daycare RFP 'confusing'
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times
June 6, 2008
By: Maria Rantanen

The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district office has been "inundated" with inquiries about available daycare space with 10 applications already in, but one interested daycare administrator questioned the seemingly onerous fees and conditions.

Judy Wiles, administrator with the Port Coquitlam Daycare Society, said the recent request for proposals she received from SD42 is "confusing" and doesn't speak about partnerships with families and daycare operators.

"Do they want a partner or a tenant?" she said. The request for proposals asks non-profits to sign a five-year lease, pay $10,080 annually in rent per classroom, and put up a $10,000 performance bond.

Wiles said at the four centres she runs, both her society and the leaseholder have a 30-day notification period - which she said works well for both parties. If any non-profit daycare society had $10,000, they would invest it into their daycare, Wiles said.

The society was considering starting a before and after school program for children in Grade 5 and up.

The current request for proposals came as a surprise to Wiles and the society because eight years ago they negotiated buying a portable at Mount Crescent for $3,500 to run a daycare in.

The society didn't get the necessary grant so the deal fell through, but Wiles said she considered that potential deal a partnership to support daycare - she said she didn't consider $10,080 in rent a partnership.

Randy Cranston, SD42 assistant superintendent, said the rate is below what most districts are offering …."The rate is a really good rate," Cranston said. "I could rationalize that we're losing money on it."

He added that offering daycare space wasn't meant as a money-making venture, rather it's more about giving kids a positive experience before they start school and offering good quality daycare.

The performance bond is meant to be used if an operator walks out of daycare operation without paying staff and other bills, Cranston said….

Wiles said their society tries to keep costs low for families and this is helped by low rents, but the $10,080 annual rent SD42 is asking for is out of their price range.

"It's too expensive for us," Wiles.

The request for proposals also asked for a business plan, and although Wiles said it's good the school district is being careful, if her society is a tenant they should be allowed the freedom to decide how to run their business.

"If we're paying this amount of rent, it's our business," she said.

In mid April, the board of education approved the yearly rate of $10,080 - from September to June - for renting a classroom that would allow 20 child care spaces. GST would be charged on top of the fees as well as a daily rate for spring break and Christmas break.

Non-profit and for-profit daycare centres would be charged the same rate, as recommended by the Ridge Meadows Early Childhood Committee.

But Wiles said the mandate of her society is to keep child care costs low for parents and the low rents they've managed to negotiate with their landlords help. Daycare fees go mainly towards employee wages and programs….

"It's only coming out of parents' pockets," she said.