Frustrated parents, teachers and childcare workers will march and picket before next Monday’s school board meeting in protest of a proposal to cut a district-run childcare program.
The demonstration is in response to the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board’s budget-cutting proposals made at last Thursday’s meeting, said Sharon Smith, an organizer of the march.
The protesters will meet at King Lab School, 2424 Lake St., at 7 p.m. before marching to the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave., where Monday’s board meeting will be held. Smith said they will picket until 8 p.m. and then attend the meeting.
“It’s important for people to exercise their rights and speak out,” said Smith, whose second grade son is one of about 830 children in the district’s childcare program. “We want to make our presence known.”
Concerned D65 employees and community members met Tuesday to plan the march, their first formal meeting since the announcement that the longstanding District 65 childcare program may be turned over to the McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St.
“We’re hoping for a large outpouring of people,” Smith said. “We’re organizing it very quickly and getting the word out fast, but we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us.”
The childcare program is one of many possible programs — including elementary school band and drama — that the district may cut to compensate for a $1.7 million budget deficit.
None of the cuts are definite, said Lutaf Dhanidina, the district’s chief financial officer. At Monday’s meeting the board will attempt to narrow down the proposed cuts.
Monday’s march also will include advocates for other programs that may be eliminated, said Natalie Copper, president of the Evanston Association of Child Care Professionals.
D65 Superintendent Hardy Ray Murphy said the district has been discussing the possibility of handing the program over to the YMCA for years. He said the board is working out the details with the YMCA.
“All organizations in the community are constantly seeking partnerships,” Murphy said. “This is not unusual.”
Copper said the district has not attempted to work with the childcare staff since Thursday’s meeting. She said she is still upset by the district’s last-minute notification about cutting childcare.
Bob Carroll, president of the District Educators Council Union, said the district’s lack of communication is typical. Carroll, who is helping to organize the march, said the board also failed to talk to school faculty when the district sent letters to 70 teachers last month informing them that their jobs could be cut.
“We want to bring attention to the board that when they work with their employee groups, they need to discuss everything even in hard times,” Carroll said.
Iris Bolden, site coordinator of the childcare program at Oakton Elementary School, said she is worried that the district has not thought out the detailed parts of the proposal, including issues of liability and transportation.
“You’re throwing a baby into the water without checking if there is any water in the pool,” said Bolden, who added that she believes the childcare program generates a profit.
She also said the affordability of the program keeps parents coming back.
But Murphy said D65 historically has charged lower fees than nearby private childcare centers. The low fees and high staff salaries have caused a $150,000 deficit this year, he said.
If the board accepts the proposal, all of the childcare staff members may not be rehired by the YMCA.
Helen Mardis, D65’s director of human resources, said board members will do their best to inform the childcare workers about the status of their jobs once a decision is made.
But Kingsley Elementary childcare site leader Mario Chess said the more experienced staff members are invaluable. He said these employees — some of whom have worked in the district for decades — already have established relationships with the teachers and parents.
Chess said he and many of his coworkers volunteer their time in the schools during the day. By giving the YMCA control of the program, the students will not be able to interact with the childcare staff during the school day.
“I love my job,” Chess said. “I don’t think they are looking at the contributions that we give them that the district doesn’t even pay for.”
