THUNDER BAY — Afterschool child care could become more of a scarcity for parents with children in the city's rural schools.
A letter sent to families from Footsteps Family Centre indicated the centre's board of directors is looking at shutting the doors for before and after school care at the end of June.
The schools affected include Our Lady of Charity, Holy Cross, Gorham and Ware, and Five Mile.
Wishing to remain anonymous, one parent contacted TBnewswatch expressing her concern with the potential closure.
The mother of three said her children attend the centre in various capacities, including after-school care and during holidays such as March break, professional development days and during the summer break.
Parents received the letter late last week indicating the final decision on if the centres will close will be made by late March.
As a parent in the community, the mother indicated this closure would be detrimental for her family and others.
"This closure of school-age care will be devastating for many families across the four schools they operate in.
"Currently, my husband and I are not sure what we will do next year as school at Five Mile ends at 2:30 pm, making it near impossible to leave work at 2 pm every day to pick them up."
The executive director of the centre, Colleen McBain, was not available for comment, but she confirmed there are 112 school-aged children enrolled in either before or after-school care at the four centres.
McBain also referenced the reasons for the possible closure are reflected in the letter, including "safety for students and staff, staffing levels, and quality of care," with a main reason being lack of staff.
Another submission to TBnewswatch from a parent indicated there is continued upset in the community over the letter.
The submission reads, "What are parents to do? Rural school runs 8:20-2:20 pm. Are parents to go down to part time? There is already a long wait list to get in. If another provider comes in, are the ones already utilizing this service in a lottery or guaranteed? Lots of upset parents."
As both school boards will be impacted by the closure, they were contacted for possible insight into the situation.
Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board sent a response via email.
"Thunder Bay Catholic is aware of the unfolding situation regarding Footsteps Daycare, a service available within two of our schools. In a letter sent home to parents and guardians from Footsteps, they indicated that a potential closure was in sight, but have not confirmed this.
"TBCDSB cannot, at this time, comment on whether or not we will be taking over these spaces, as we are awaiting a confirmation on these facilities permanently closing. Until a decision is made, Thunder Bay Catholic will do all it can to continue to support child care within our system."
The superintendent of education at Lakehead District School Board, Heather Harris, also spoke on the issue.
"Staffing is a challenge with early childhood educators - it's a challenge right across the province.
"I'm sure that the educators in those programs will be able to find employment in other programs or in kindergarten programs at school boards."
Harris noted the board's disappointment in the possibility of the closure of the centres.
"Well, we're disappointed in the closure, for sure. We know it'll be challenging for families and stressful. So we are committed to continuing to work with the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board, as well as our third-party child-care providers, in the hope that we can fill those holes.
"We do work with our community partners to determine the need for before and after school care and then try to meet those needs for families - we know it's important."
Harris said the board is committed to meeting families' needs regarding childcare.
"We are working together with the TBDSSAB and our community partners to try to meet those needs."
The struggle of finding child care in the city and district has been well documented. Especially since TBDSSAB is on the hunt for over 130 early childhood educators in order to open more spaces across the district.
Footsteps Family Centre promised that once a decision was made on the future of their school-aged programming, a follow-up letter would be provided to families.
