Parents to pay more for daycare if Toronto goes ahead with funding cuts, TDSB says

The city might want to make roomfor more baby strollers at its next budget consultation meetings.

A proposal in the 2017 budget could see some parents paying more for child care that is already notoriously expensive.

"It's more than university," Amanda Munday said in an interview on Thursday.

Munday has two young children and she says when her four-month-old baby enrolls in fulltime daycare later this year, her childcare costs will be more than her wage.

"So much more that it wouldn't even be worth working. And that's really frustrating. I've been building my career for 10 years."

Munday says she has a "well-paying" job in the tech industry.

"I love my job. I don't want to quitmy job."

Munday joined Toronto District School Board Trustee Jennifer Story at a media conference at Bruce Public School on Thursday.

Story is helping to round upparents and daycare operators to voice concerns over theproposed $4.1-million funding cut that could translate into higher child-care costs.

City staff have proposed eliminatingcoverage for the annual occupancy costs of theTDSB, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Toronto French District School Board and Toronto District French Catholic School Board. Those costs includepaying for heat, lights and maintenanceof daycare spaces on school property.

"We can fight this," Story said in an interview. "We are hoping to convince the city that this isn't a wise move to increase the already extremely high cost of child care in Toronto."

Parents would take a hit

Story said the city is proposing to phase out that funding in the second half of this year. If that happens, the trustee said the TDSB will have to raise the rent for child-care operators in its buildings. Those costs will likely be passed onto to parents.

"School boards are not funded in a way to carry those costs," said Story."So if the city doesn't cover it, and the province doesn't cover it, then parents are going to have to cover it. That's the least desirable scenario for everybody."

Coun.JoeMihevcacknowledges such a cut would bea big hit to parents. He's on the community development and recreation committee, which oversees city daycares and he said he doesn't believe his colleagues will support the cost-cutting proposal.

"Child care is very, very important to Torontoparents, and certainly the buzz on the second floor at city council is that it's not one of the cuts that will go through."

CityspokeswomanAggieFortiersaid that the cuts would result in a net savings of $3.39 million over two years.The city has to find about $91 million in savings to balance the budget, something Toronto is legally obliged to do.

If the boards passed on their occupancy costs to daycare customers, the increased fees for child-care spaces could see an increase of up to $1.35 per day,Fortier said in an email to CBC Toronto.

City Council will debate the budget in February.

CIty's2017 Preliminary Budget