Trustees didn’t know about evicted daycares
Maple Ridge News
By Robert Mangelsdorf
April 01, 2010

The decision by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district to hand eviction notices to private daycares housed at some of the its elementary schools was made without the knowledge of trustees, staff said at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The district decided to opt out of its lease agreement with daycares at Riverside, Mt. Crescent, and Hammond elementary schools last month, giving each business six months notice to leave.

Another daycare at Maple Ridge elementary was told it could no longer use one of the two rooms it currently occupies at the school.

While the Board of Education voted to allow the district to lease out unused rooms in 12 elementary schools in 2008, the board did not vote to cancel the leases, and was not aware of the staff’s decision to do so.

The parents of close to 100 children were left scrambling to find appropriate child care because of the move.

Secretary treasurer Wayne Jefferson apologized to those affected by the decision at Wednesday’s school board meeting, explaining that staff needed to make room for other uses at the schools….

However, the report made no mention that the daycares housed at the school had already been handed eviction notices to make room.

Board chair Ken Clarkson said he had no idea the daycares were being evicted until he read about it in the newspaper. However, he supported district staff’s position, saying the district’s students need to come first.

“These are private businesses that entered into a contract with the district,” he said. “It’s not a school program.”

The lease agreements are each five years long, and cost $1,050 per month, per room. However, either party can opt out at any time with six months notice….