School District 40 and the City of New Westminster have agreed to work together to help address the child-care challenges facing New West families.
The two organizations will develop a new joint child-care protocol for the city, replacing an existing agreement that was drawn up in 2009. The School District 40 board officially agreed Tuesday night (March 7) to accept an invitation from Mayor Patrick Johnstone to work with the city on an update to that protocol.
The invitation arose, in part, from the school district’s much-publicized decision to shift two child-care centres out of downtown-area schools to make space for more classrooms.
École Qayqayt, Fraser River Middle School lose child-care spaces
School District 40 will be converting the community spaces in École Qayqayt Elementary and Fraser River Middle School to classrooms for September 2024 to cope with overcrowding and rapidly growing enrolment.
The decision affects two infant-toddler daycare centres run by the Lower Mainland Purpose Society — shifting them from central locations in or near the downtown core to less central neighbourhoods. Ready Set Grow, the daycare at Fraser River Middle School, is being relocated to the grounds of Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School in the West End. The Qayqayt Children’s Centre will move to F.W. Howay Elementary School in Massey Victory Heights.
“The relocation of these vital services to other parts of the city will be a functional loss for families in the downtown, an area where many families have limited transportation options,” Johnstone wrote in a letter to the school board on Nov. 29. “The downtown is already undersupplied with non-profit child-care spaces, especially for infant-toddler care.”
In a followup letter to the school board in February, Johnstone pointed out both the school district and the city currently lease out space to non-profit child-care operators.
“Developing a new protocol is important to maintaining and expanding these spaces and in meeting the child-care needs of children, families and the larger community,” he wrote.
The letter also points to the B.C. Ministry of Education’s new expanded mandate; it has officially become the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Working together will allow the city and school district to better position themselves to take advantage of ministry funding for child-care spaces, Johnstone’s letter says.
Trustees support work on new child-care agreement
School board chair Gurveen Dhaliwal brought a recommendation to the school board on Tuesday night (March 7) to accept Johnstone's invitation and to formally collaborate with the city on a new child-care protocol. Trustees agreed unanimously with the recommendation, which passed without discussion.
Parent James Plett — one of several parents who were highly critical of the district's decision to move the two Purpose Society daycares — lauded the board for the decision, calling it an "important first step."
"I'm really glad to see all this momentum moving forward, and I guess it's just my hope that something comes of this and it's not just a gesture and it's not just words, but that the city and the school board and any other bodies that need to work together, that you guys all work collaboratively and that something really good and meaningful and purposeful comes from this," he said.
An update on the child-care protocol will return to the school board by no later than June.
📣 SOUND OFF: What do you think the city and school district should do to address New Westminster's child-care needs? Are you affected by the existing child-care space challenges? How does this issue affect your family? Send us a letter.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
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