Talks begin on full-day kindergarten proposal
Victoria News
By Roszan Holmen
July 08, 2008

After committing to explore full-day kindergarten for three-to-five year olds in February, the B.C. government has launched a study into the feasibility of the idea…

For many people active in child-care advocacy locally, it’s an idea with promise but also many challenges.

“I love the idea that it would be free to parents and it would be universal child care,” said Meagan Brame who runs Saxe Point Daycare in Esquimalt.

“My concerns are that it would have to be run by early childhood educators because that is our specialty, that age bracket.”

Billed to provide choice, full-day kindergarten would inevitable put many private operators, like Saxe Point, out of business. This would, in turn, threaten existing day care for infants and toddlers, she said.

Care for younger children is more expensive to run due to a mandated educator-child ratio of one to four, Brame explained. Most child care operators subsidize their infant-toddler care with income from three-to-five year olds. Staffing would also become more difficult, she said.

“If you can get a $20-per-hour job (through the school district) because it’s union or work in day care somewhere else for $13, which job would you take?”

Brame would like to see any new kindergarten funding put into existing day-care centres, which could be transformed into non-profit businesses.

Minister of Education Shirley Bond sees expanded kindergarten as a way to use space in schools suffering from declining enrolment. Brame points out this strategy comes with a few structural problems.

For instance, young children need bathrooms close by….

Denise Savoie, Victoria’s Member of Parliament, is championing universal day care. She says it’s too early to evaluate the province’s kindergarten proposal.

“The proof will be in the pudding,” she said.

“Without clearly identifying what standards are to be met, I’m concerned about how we’re using public money.”

Having national standards would ensure any provincial initiatives measure up, she said.

Her bill to legislate universal child care has passed first and second reading.

“I would bring my bill back tomorrow (for third reading) if the Conservatives committed to not stonewalling or sabotages the majority will of the parliament,” said Savoie, who has been criticized for being unwilling to debate Bill C303. “I will make sure they are defeated before they defeat my bill.” In response to the ministry’s announcement in February, the Greater Victoria school district studied whether there’d be space to accommodate more kindergarten classes.

“The secretary treasurer was asked to do a feasibility study,” said superintendent John Gaiptman. “He reported back that there was room if we went to a full-day kindergarten.”