OUTLOOK - At the corner of Christie Street and Conquest Avenue, nestled next to a grove of shade trees, is Small Steps Early Learning Centre, an inclusive child care facility that is currently providing care to 30 children in Outlook each day. That is soon to change, following a welcomed announcement that the Centre will be undergoing an expansion. Small Steps director Melanie Gamble said, “We currently have 48 children on a waiting list. We’re turning people away.”
Rachel Sillers, Assistant Administrator for the Town of Outlook, and her partner Don began considering child care arrangements when their daughter Rosie was 3-4 months old, which Rachel discovered “is late nowadays!” Although they weren’t deterred by waiting lists, Rachel says that isn’t the case for others. “We do know of at least two other families who didn’t even bother adding their names to any lists because they knew the lists were so long there was no point."
The expansion at Small Steps will extend into what is now playground area. Melanie met with the architects in June to begin discussing the project which upon completion will mean a total of 90 licensed spaces. Construction cost is still to be determined but government funding will not cover the entirety. “We will know more when drawings are complete and quotes from contractors come in,” Melanie said, “but my guess is that what we’ve received would be less than 1/3 of what we’ll actually need.”
That requires Small Steps to do a fair bit of fundraising, something Melanie says can get challenging. “It’s hard. So many other groups are fundraising too, so it’s hard when so many people are going after those same dollars.”
The operating budget for Small Steps is funded partially by the Ministry of Education with the rest coming from parent fees and fundraising. Included with the programming and care at Small Steps is two snacks and one meal each day, planned according to the Canadian Food Guide.
Costs of care
A government initiative to address child care affordability brought recent changes to the fee structure. Monthly fees for an infant at Small Steps is $522, toddler is $450 and a preschool child is $419. The Centre applies for additional grants and raises money to make up the variance in operational costs, a gap further impacted by inflationary pressures. “We had to increase fees a little bit effective July 1 to cover the increasing costs of food,” Melanie explained, noting that the government would allow no more than a 2% increase while the inflation rate exceeds that.
Small Steps opened in 2015 and provides care for children six weeks up to the age of 12. The Center has 10-15 educators on staff, but one of the challenges the Centre faces is employee turnover. “Wages are a huge barrier that need to be addressed,” Melanie indicated. “It’s hard to find staff. They work very hard and it’s a very demanding job. It’s a fun job, but also a physically exhausting job. There’s a lot of turnover in staff and that’s the same across the province.”
The Ministry of Education has launched a program to help staff obtain further training and that is being seen as a positive initiative. The other change that could help with employee retention is that by September there should be a provincial wage grade, replacing the grid that is currently established by local boards.
Melanie, a strong advocate for Early Learning said, “Ages 0-5 is the crucial time for brain development. They learn essential skills during that time that will set them up for future success. Essential skills such as socialization will have a lifetime of benefits.” She said they want to meet children where they’re at, and so strive for a balance of structured and unstructured activities to allow children to learn and develop at their own pace.
It’s why she questions some funding formulas. “We value being inclusive,” she said, “and having children here that have needs that require extra support. But the government doesn’t provide a full wage to cover having an EA (educational assistant), only a portion of that wage. So the rest needs to come out of the Centre’s budget and that makes it more complicated. How is that being inclusive if it’s going to cost us more?”
Municipal tax abatement
Another factor impacting the operating budget has to do with municipal taxes. “We have to pay business taxes so that’s a substantial amount,” Melanie indicated. “The town has given us abatements but now they are saying there will be no further abatements. We are slowly getting phased into paying the full amount which would be over $10,000 a year. Once we triple the size of the facility it’s probably going to be that much more.”
Town of Outlook CAO Kevin Trew explained, “The maximum number of years any property is eligible for abatement is five years according to the Municipalities Act Section 295. Nothing has changed to that regard for the whole time Small Steps has been in existence. The very term abatement does not indicate permanence.”Learning Centres across the province face different circumstances when it comes to taxes. Melanie, who has been the Small Steps director since 2017 said, “Some are freestanding like this one, others are located in schools that don’t pay taxes. Other places have provided abatements. It’s all up to the individual community to decide whether, and how, the Centres are taxed.”
She says Small Steps follows the same curriculum used in the Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms in the elementary school here and across the province, adding, “So I tried to plead with them (Town Council) that we’re an educational facility because we offer Early Learning. But because our parents pay a fee for their children to attend, we are classified as a business.”
Trew indicated there are municipalities that have exempted permanently or abated on a year-to-year basis the property taxes of child care centres since each municipality is an authority unto itself, however this is not regarded as best practices amongst Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities, nor is it in compliance with The Municipalities Act.
A tax analysis was completed to ensure Small Steps could capture maximum abatements for both the municipal and education property tax. Trew said, “The phasing in approach seemed the best way to work within the Small Steps limited budget. In addition, the Town of Outlook has approached the municipal tax levy with a business friendly lens. The property taxes for Small Steps as well as many small businesses in Outlook has decreased in the past two years.”
Community to benefit from expansion
No ground breaking date has been set for the Centre’s expansion, but the Ministry is hoping construction will be complete by March 2023. Rachel Sillers, who is a Small Steps board member, feels this is great news for all involved, including the town itself. She points to the ripple effect the expansion will have as new staff is recruited to accommodate increased enrolment, and the positive effect it will have on the workforce in the form of parents who are not currently employed due to limited child care availability. “In so many big picture ways this is a great problem to have,” Rachel remarked. “We are fortunate to have so many families with young children who want to call Outlook and our surrounding community home and that is truly a gift.”
The expansion is a major undertaking and will require the efforts of many. Rachel remarked, “A project of this size is certainly a challenge, however we have a board of educated and experienced professionals all of whom will contribute greatly to the project’s success. With financial support from our community the project can become realized sooner and provide more child care spaces that are greatly needed. I would certainly call on all of the parents on that waiting list to help us reach our goals.”
Kevin Trew says the town fully supports the Learning Centre, naming it a valued partner in the community. “We celebrated along with Small Steps when it was announced that there were more licensed child care seats coming to Outlook. We look forward to receiving the development application and then able to review its eligibility for development incentives, which include abatement.”
The good news for Rachel and Don is that they have secured a spot for Rosie in late 2022 in a newly established home daycare. Since Rachel returns to work in September she is thankful for a strong support system to help with her return-to-work transition. “I am also very grateful to have an understanding employer who knows how challenging and stressful it has been for us to find child care,” she shared.
The expansion of Small Steps will play an important part in meeting child care demand; one that is certainly indication of a growing community. Rachel said, “When I think of it from our family’s view it was definitely something that caused a lot of stress and anxiety for us. The nervousness of not having a plan was difficult for us to navigate as first-time parents, but knowing our daughter will grow up in such a family friendly community with so much to offer for children is a wonderful feeling.”
The community is encouraged to not only watch for upcoming fundraising events for the Small Steps expansion but to know that tax receipts will be issued for gifts directed to the Centre. Melanie Gamble remarked, “Having a quality Early Learning Centre is important. Parents need a reliable place where their children are safe, cared for and loved. It is good for families and good for the community.”
