Summer childcare program to continue for 2012

Future still uncertain as School Board examines cost to district

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

A popular childcare program could be in limbo as part of a greater discussion in the Waterford Graded School District about facility usage, rental fees and scheduling.

The Waterford Area School-Age Program, or WASP, has been using the district’s three elementary schools – Evergreen, Trailside and Woodfield – for before and after school child care for students ages 5 to 13 during the regular school year.

WASP is run by a consortium of three local child care organizations: All About Kids, Homestead Day Care LLC and Today’s Child Learning Center Inc. Collectively, staff also have been holding an expanded summer program during the off months, which has become a sticking point as Waterford Graded officials review a facility usage policy.

In a letter to the district, a number of WASP organizers addressed the future of the program within Waterford Graded facilities. The letter was written by Laura Danbrea of All About Kids, Terry Berg and Linda Seidler of Homestead Day Care LLC and Patty Clark, Tracy Fredrick and Kathy Ratkowski of Today’s Child Learning Center Inc.

“This program began with the intent to provide a quality service to the community,” the letter states. “(The district) wanted to make the schools as accessible to the community as possible. Since we had already provided before and after school care, we were asked to extend our program to summer care and satisfy the need within the community.”

The six organizers stated the 2011 WASP summer program was well attended, with participation by 65 families and 84 children. On average, there were 40 children participating in WASP summer programming on any given day.

“This amount exceeds our home facilities licensing and classroom capacities,” the letter states. “Changing child care facilities can be very stressful for the parents and mostly their children. Our primarily concern is the welfare of the children and their families.”

Several School Board members discussed the issue at a Recreation Committee meeting last week. The consensus was to allow WASP access to school facilities during the summer months in 2012, but the issue remains uncertain afterward.

District officials briefly discussed the possibility of offering the service in-house with Waterford Graded employees overseeing childcare services. But the thought was dropped because of the extensive licensing requirements necessary.

School Board member Robert Kastengren, who chairs the committee, said he was concerned about the potential impact on the local business community.

“I don’t want to infringe on businesses in Waterford,” he said. “I’m concerned about something like this because it could be at the cost of business in the community.”

School Board President Dan Jensen, who sits on the committee, said he would like an analysis of what it costs the district to make the facilities available to WASP. Superintendent Chris Joch said he would crunch the numbers.