Starting in September it will cost more for a parent to access childcare at the Dave Barr Community Centre. On Monday, Grande Prairie City Council approved a fee increase which would see parents paying between $35 to $70 extra this year. Centre Supervisor Cate Amaro says they also approved adding a new toddler room which will take some of the strain off the waitlist the centre currently has.
“Right now we have over 20 people registered in our waitlist so hopefully, we will get those spots full very soon. It will mean more childcare, parents can go back to work, [and] parents can actually get their kids into quality programming.”
The centre currently offers four different types of childcare including the Kid’s Place Daycare, Kid’s Place Pre-K Room, Kid’s Klub After School Care as well as Family Day Home Services.
Kids Place Daycare fees for full-time users will change from $850 to $900, the pre-K rate will go from $215 to $250 and the price of the afterschool program will be phased in over two years going from $280 to $350 this September and up to $420 in September 2020. Amaro says she’s heard concerns from a few parents but overall the increases have gone over well.
“Out of 159 children registered we only got about three [parents who provided] feedback. They were just asking is there a way to change their opinion but I approached them way before the media release came out and really we only got three people giving feedback.”
If everything with the licensing and accreditation for the new room goes well it should open on September 1st when the fees change.