The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 before- and after-school childcare program will not be outsourced to the YMCA next year, the head of Evanston’s childcare union said Thursday.
Natalie Copper, president of the Evanston Association of Child Care Professionals, said District 65 Superintendent Hardy Ray Murphy told her Thursday afternoon that school-age childcare would be spared from a list of possible cuts totalling $3 million.
Murphy could not be reached for comment Thursday.
District 65 parents will receive flyers for registration in the district-run childcare program within the next week, Copper said.
“Why outsource when you have such an awesome program?” Copper said. “You should keep what you have and make it better.”
In April District 65 proposed outsourcing before- and after-school childcare to the McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St., in an effort to balance this year’s $1.7 million deficit.
McGaw YMCA Vice President Chris Hart could not be reached for comment. He recently told The Daily that he thought a collaboration with District 65 would bring in resources from both sides to enrich the childcare program.
The District 65 before- and after-school childcare program runs a deficit of $142,000 each year. Copper said an increased registration fee and staff reduction are realistic ways to afford the program. But those decisions are not final until negotiations, which begin this week, are complete.
Although District 65 parents and teachers objected to the idea of outsourcing childcare to the YMCA, Northwestern formed a partnership with the YMCA two years ago to give parents more childcare options.
Most NU employees and students are satisfied with the childcare programs offered at the YMCA, said Eugene Sunshine, senior vice president for business and finance.
“We’re pleased with our partnership,” Sunshine said.
Katie Krauch, NU’s child and family resources coordinator, said NU employee enrollment in the YMCA childcare programs has increased from 52 children in 2002-03 to 83 this year.
But some parents said they’re happy the District 65 program won’t be outsourced.
“The district did the right thing,” said Rebecca Foote, who has two children in the district’s program. “As a single parent, I need their help. I need a place to go to that I’m comfortable for my son and daughter to be there.”
Foote said NU’s success with the YMCA will not make her send her children there. She said that if the district ever outsourced to the YMCA, she would rather send her kids to another childcare provider.
Foote also said she has friends who use the YMCA and who have not been happy with the quality of care. She said the childcare workers at District 65 share close relationships with the teachers and children.
“When you’re in college you want your teacher to know you by your first name,” she said. “That’s how it is for my kids in (District 65).”
For District 65 parent Melissa Morris, the district’s childcare center is a second home for her son. Morris, a newcomer to the district this year, said her son initially had problems adjusting to going to his new school, but the district’s school-age childcare program has helped him immensely.
“Within a couple of weeks, he wanted to go to school,” she said. “He used to cry all the time.”
After seeing her son’s change in the program this year, Morris said she would be willing to pay a higher fee to save the program from outsourcing.
Copper, the head of the childcare union, said she hopes she can work closely with the administration to prevent outsourcing in the future.
“If the district has learned a lesson,” she said, “they will work closely and openly with workers and parents to come to a better solution.”
