‘One step forward, two steps back. Why is childcare so difficult?'
No, that’s not exactly how one of children’s entertainer Charlotte Diamond’s latest songs goes. That’s how Richmond resident Cathy Sichewski describes the “childcare crisis” in the city, and particularly in Steveston, where her daughter attends Homma elementary.
There, a YMCA before and after-school program is being forced to move to nearby Byng elementary this September, and in the process lose eight of its 36 licensed spaces.
The program is one of five based out of an elementary school that needs to be moved, as more classroom space is required to fulfill smaller class size requirements, stemming from a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last November that stipulated the provincial government has illegally increased classroom size since 2002.
The other four programs affected are at Currie, Errington, Tomsett and Wowk schools.
Sichewski said she understood that all the children at Homma have been taken care of, thanks to nearby Generations Day Care taking in a handful more students, to meet their capacity. Meanwhile, the 28 remaining kids will attend Byng.
Still, the situation is not ideal, said Sichewski, as kids will need to be bussed to and from Homma, and Byng could soon meet capacity issues, as well.
Sichewski said parents felt broadsided by the news in May. It was only this week that parents learned the new spaces at Byng were available.
On June 5, a Richmond School District memo noted Tomsett’s program had yet to find a space. Meanwhile, the other four were works in progress. Errington’s program, for example, may be moved to Sea Island elementary.
Sichewski said the City of Richmond ought to step in and provide more childcare spaces at Steveston Community Centre. She said she was pleased to hear Coun. Alexa Loo listen to her concerns.
Loo is city council’s representative on the childcare advisory board and liaison to the district. She is also the only council member with school-age children.
“Everyone understands the needs and concern,” said Loo.
By and large, she noted the city acts as a facilitator for childcare spaces in each neighbourhood.
“Our community centre programs are not to take the place of people’s businesses. The role of the city is not to be in the business of running every business in town. It’s in place to pick up the slack if there’s a need,” said Loo.
Help is on the way in Steveston, with the development of a 37-child daycare space on No. 2 Road, built by Polygon at Kingsley Estates. The $3.3 million facility, paid for by developer fees, will be run by the city.
The city also procures a childcare fee from all new developments. The money goes in a pot to build future spaces.
But the city has also come under criticism for squeezing out commercial and industrial spaces zoned for childcare in Steveston, in return for lucrative residential homes, hampering the opportunities for the private sector.
“This is a huge impact to the community and considering the city is putting high-density housing in the area, they are not doing enough to put in childcare,” said Sichewski.
Loo said parents should be vocal at their local community associations to express the need for childcare.
“Looking forward, we are building a new community centre and we’re going through a needs assessment,” said Loo.
