The City of Terrace is getting nearly $400,000 from the federal and provincial governments to renovate the multi-use room on the second floor of the Terrace Sportsplex and then equip it for use as a before-school and after-school daycare space for school-age children.
It will also be the operator of the program for up to 30 children, something not originally envisioned.
“The partnership options originally considered did not materialize for a number of reasons,” explained city communications official Kate Lautens of an unsuccessful attempt to find a private-sector operator.
“As the city already is involved in programming for children, and after significant research into various options for providing municipally-operated programming, the city determined it would be possible to expand service through the parks, recreation and culture department.”
Not yet known is how much it will cost to send children to the program. It’s expected to be in place by October.
“The City of Terrace school age program is expected to be self-funding and staff will work to access any and all subsidy programs available to support this program to keep costs reasonable for families,” said Lautens.
The city has set a wage scale of $29.44 an hour for the one part-time person and one casual person it will hire. Each is in line for a top up of another $4 an hour from a provincial program for having an early childhood education certificate. Both will be CUPE members.
“We are offering a wage that is higher than had typically been offered in the past in early child care in the community, but similar wages are something we are now also seeing within the community that recognizes the importance of this work,” said Lautens.
City of Terrace Social Development Coordinator Linda Stevens expressed satisfaction at the wage structure when council met Aug. 14, saying it has resulted in more qualified applicants.
Terrace Mayor Sean Bujtas, who had first had expressed his reluctance about the city acting as a daycare operator, said this week the program comes at no extra cost for city taxpayers.
“Granting and user fees will cover the costs, making it a revenue-neutral program. This is a child care model that makes sense for a municipality like the City of Terrace to facilitate,” he said.
A city-commissioned study in 2020 identified a lack of licensed childcare as a problem.
Northern Health, among other organizations, has said the lack of childcare has made filling vacant positions more difficult.