Council votes to shutter five regional childcare centres
THE REGION OF WATERLOO IS getting out of the childcare business, council last week voting to close the five regionally operated facilities, including the Elmira Children’s Centre.
In a 12-3 decision (Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz was one of the dissenters) at a special session December 2, councillors approved the money-saving move, pledging to use some of the $6.8 million to fund more daycare spaces.
The region plans to begin the transition immediately, looking to begin closing facilities by mid-2021, eliminating 207 spaces.
Closing the centres was among the recommendations in a report by a consultant, KPMG, hired to find cuts that could cover an expected $25-million shortfall in the region’s 2021 budget. The idea met with widespread opposition from parents and childcare advocates, though their numerous pitches to council ultimately proved fruitless.
Councillors picked up on figures in the consultant’s report noting that the municipality provides about two per cent of the 14,000 daycare spaces in the region, but spends about 10 per cent of its childcare budget on its five centres. Those who voted for the closures argued should be a service manager, not a provider.
The move was neces
sary given the budgetary discrepancy, said regional Coun. Michael Harris, who voted for the closure. Most of his colleagues did the same, arguing the money could be better used to serve the 14,000 children in the daycare system.
With the savings, the region could help create more than 300 new spaces at other centres in the area, the report notes.
Still, the report was short on details when it comes to the transition at the five regional centres and where additional money might be spent. That’s what prompted Shantz to vote against the motion, holding out for a more fulsome plan.
“What I was hoping to see from staff was a more thought-out and robust plan for what this new system would look like if we divest of the five daycares and free up the funds. What would they recommend, what would be a good way forward that would make better use of those funds? And I didn’t see that. I saw lots of good suggestions. Staff gave lots of good suggestions of what could be done, but we can’t do it all. There wasn’t a cohesive plan for it, so that that’s where I was opposed,” said Shantz. “What I was hoping for was a more concrete plan. Now, having said that, I do trust that staff will put together a good process to do some community consultation and to in the end come up with that plan. I just would have liked to have seen that before deciding to divest of the daycares.”
She says of the Elmira centre that staff are going to work to ensure there is a good provider lined up to bring the same level of care and education as is currently offered.
Wellesley Township Mayor Joe Nowak was one of the 12 who decided it best to close the schools. He says the decision is a difficult one that had to be made, adding he appreciates that the reallocation of funds will leave the region with more childcare spaces overall than they would have with the centres open.
“I recognize the importance of daycare. I was on the Inspiring Minds Early Learning Centre committee [in Wellesley] when it was first established, so I certainly understand the importance of it,” said Nowak, adding he expects staff will be working to look after any of the kids who might be displaced.
Despite a lack of concrete planning with regards to the future of the children in the centres, he said he is confident that staff will come up with something after discussing the matter with regional Chair Karen Redman.
“I had a brief discussion with Chair Redman a couple days before, and I received some assurances then that the staff would be working diligently to come up with a plan. I’ve always had a lot of confidence in regional staff. So, it’s a work in progress and I felt secure that something was going to happen, something was going to develop so that a plan would be put in place.”
But parents such as Elmira’s Keri Linscott were skeptical following the decision, noting there are no guarantees. She added the new spaces will take time to bring on line, and the quality is unlikely to match the levels seen in the region-operated facilities.
Linscott, who has a child at the Elmira Children’s Centre, says even if the money can be used to create more spaces throughout the region, it will take time and that losing high quality spaces and teachers is a significant blow.
Linscott said she was disappointed by the decision, stressing it is now the parents’ job to ensure that council is held accountable for enhancing childcare.
“I think this decision was short-sighted, and closing the centres is not the way to accomplish equity in access to quality childcare in the region. It feels like we are taking steps backwards. I am disappointed for the families impacted by this decision. I’m sad for the ones in care, the ones on waitlists and heartbroken for the employees that are highly educated professionals dedicated to the children they serve,” said Linscott.
“I praise Mayor Shantz for listening to her constituents and the fact that there is a serious lack of details around the plan. I know that they talked about a high-level plan and they’re going to do research and everything, but I just, again I feel like this decision was really rushed.”
Four of the five centres – Edith MacIntosh Children’s Centre, Christopher Children’s Centre, Cambridge Children’s Centre and Kinsmen Children’s Centre – are going to close at some point in the middle of next year. The Elmira Children’s Centre is likely to close at the end of 2021, with another provider expected to take over the space at Riverside Public School.