After announcing sudden closure, Scarborough daycare to stay open Monday
Posted June 13, 2011 7:30 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After a meeting Sunday with board members and staff of the Progress Childcare centre, along with parents and local government officials, it was decided the centre will open its doors Monday morning.
But the centre’s future is still very much in doubt.
The centre has been serving mostly low-income families for three decades and currently provides care for about 90 kids.
Progress will remain open because staff members have agreed to work for free. The workers have agreed to stay on for about a month in hopes of a resolution.
“We are grateful for the dedication and support that parents, staff and the public have shown towards our Centre. Our staff have committed to continue to serve our kids without any assurance that the money will be found to cover costs,” Rob Fletcher, the Treasurer of the Progress Child Care Centre, said in a statement Sunday.
The board of Progress Childcare claims it isn’t getting adequate funding.
“We get $1,200 per month for an infant space while the Toronto average in 2010 is $1,400 per month. We are doing our part, but we need Mayor Ford to help us secure proper funding,” Fletcher said.
Staff and families are holding out hope the city will step in to help.
“We’re putting our hopes on Mayor Rob Ford and the city and the province …. [that they] will step up and give us some emergency funds just to get us to July, really,” Janet Teibo of CUPE Local 2484 said.
There are 647 non-profit childcare centres across Toronto and Progress isn’t the only centre facing financial problems, some claim.
“Our centre is run by parents in an affluent west end neighbourhood. We have a mix of full-fee and subsidized parents but funding shortages have left even our centre with a deficit of over $20,000,” said Rasheeda Wilson, whose two kids attend Ferncliff Child Care Centre in Roncesvalles.
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti, chair of the city’s community development and recreation committee, said there’s no emergency funding available to help Progress Childcare solve its financial crisis.
“Progress Child Care Centre received more than $1.3-million in funding from the City in 2010. This was in the form of subsidies for low income families, and staff wage subsidies,” Mammoliti said in a statement.
Progress Child Care Centre has received almost $625,000 in funding from the city since January, Mammoliti said, including a $90,000 payment last week.
The city offered operational guidance when it was learned Progress might be in financial trouble, but the offer was refused.
