The province’s move to full-day kindergarten classes has caused a local nursery school to lose up to $50,000 in annual revenue.
“We are in a really poor operating budget state,” Johanna Magee told Erin council at its last August meeting.
Due to the lost revenue, Station Road Co-operative Nursery School is asking that the town not increase its lease payments at Centre 2000 for at least the next year, Magee explained.
She noted even a 2% increase over the current annual lease payment of $16,904 would result in an additional $338 cost annually for the school, which had 75 children enrolled last year.
Mayor Lou Maieron sympathized with the local nursery school, noting the province is trying to do a good thing with full-day kindergarten, but it hurts day cares across the province. Effectively, it takes away from those businesses the older children who are easiest to care for, Maieron said.
Councillor John Brennan asked when the nursery school expects to be in better shape financially.
Magee told council the nursery school, which has one salaried employee and five yearly contracts, will try to develop more programs for younger kids. She is hopeful things will improve by next year.
“During the next couple of years, we will be planning and creating new and more diverse programs relevant to the needs of families within the community,” she said.
She suggested a two-year lease agreement instead of five, if council was hesitant to freeze the rate.
Council voted unanimously in favour of keeping the lease payment at $16,904 for 2011, 2012 and 2013.
