Jun 10, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Crystal Crimi

DURHAM -- After months of waiting, Sherry Brown's kids finally got into Durham College's daycare. Unfortunately, she didn't know the decision had already been made to close it.

Durham College decided May 13 to close the daycare, but the centre accepted Ms. Brown's two- and four-year-old children on May 25. She received notice of its closure about a week later, the same day as its staff.

"I pulled my children from one daycare to another and now it's closing," said Ms. Brown, an Oshawa resident. "It does cause quite a bit of problems."

The college should have given staff a heads-up that closure was something being considered, she said.

"I never thought this would ever happen," Ms. Brown added.

The daycare's closure decision was made as part of the college's budget process, approved at its May public board of governors meeting. The daycare has been running growing deficits for each of the last five years, with this year's expected loss sitting at $280,000, not including rent, said Don Lovisa, Durham College president.

The daycare probably accepted Ms. Brown's kids after the closure decision was made because the staff didn't know about it, Mr. Lovisa said.

"The people that would have been accepting registration wouldn't have known," Mr. Lovisa said. "The staff were basically working under normal circumstances."

Once the school made the decision to get rid of the daycare, it immediately contacted the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which requires at least two weeks' notice before the staff can be told. Collective agreements prevented the college from being able to notify staff directly right after the decision was made, he said.

The OPSEU office at Durham College was unavailable for comment.

The daycare's regular three-week August shutdown is included in the 90-day closure notice provided to staff and parents.

"It's an enormous loss," Mr. Lovisa said of the closure. "It was a decision we wrestled with."

The ongoing deficit has to do with child-to-worker ratios and higher employee wages because the centre is unionized, Mr. Lovisa said.

"They just don't allow us to be competitive," Mr. Lovisa said. "You're forced into a deficit."

At about $43 a day, the rate is already high compared to other centres, he added.

The daycare has been in operation for more than 20 years and has about 73 full- and part-time kids, nine support staff, and a manager. About 75 per cent of the kids there are from Durham College staff and students.

While he understands it's difficult to find good quality childcare, given the deficit and Durham College's financial situation, the school can't afford to subsidize the operation anymore, Mr. Lovisa said.

The daycare is used by the college's early childhood education students for their placement component, as are other centres throughout the region.

Mr. Lovisa has received e-mails from people upset, concerned, and in some cases angry, and they'll try to help people move forward, he added.

"It's an emotional time for parents," he said.

Scugog resident Mike Craigen has one child in the daycare already and a toddler enrolled for June, but he doesn't know what to do now.

"I am left with a feeling of panic in trying to attain adequate care for my child in such short notice," Mr. Craigen said in an e-mail.

Institutionalized daycare spaces are at a premium in Durham Region, with waiting lists at most being one to two years - not the 50-some odd days provided through the closure, he said.

"We have added our names to waiting lists and will be forced to make a decision for childcare based strictly on availability," Mr. Craigen said.

Ms. Brown understands the situation the deficit puts the school in, but wishes they had come to parents first to see if there was fundraising or anything else they could do to address the shortfall.

"I think it's an essential service for some students," she said. "I think it does affect the quality of the college itself."

It's expensive, but some people get a subsidy, she added.

Ms. Brown started as a student at Durham College in January and may have considered going elsewhere if she knew about the daycare closure, she said.