No Room Left in BSU Budget Plan for Campus Childcare Center
Center to Close After Spring Semester
By Tara Hjermstad
Word count: 987
For nine years, the fully–licensed Campus Childcare Center has offered daycare to students, BSU faculty and the Bemidji community for children from 6 weeks to 5 years. Now these students and families are forced to find an alternative daycare, after BSU’s decision to close the Campus Childcare Center after the 2010 spring semester, due to budget cuts.
According to the center’s webpage, the Campus Childcare Center is currently open Monday – Friday throughout the school year from 7:30 am – 5:00 pm, with the option of either part time or full time. The curriculum highlights are daily sign language, creative art, singing, routines, music, physical education, and Spanish are also offered with no extra charge. There are also Single Parent Parenting classes offered on Thursday nights at CCC. All teachers have early childhood education and experience, and are part of the Headstart Partnership in Preschool Program. Not only does the daycare center provide jobs to members of the community, it also helps with campus profit. It is a place for early education major students to do training without having to travel off–campus or go through the trouble of finding a place to volunteer their time at. With such a practical schedule, the campus daycare offers a program that works well with not only students and faculty, but members of the community that work day hours as well. Another wonderful thing is that it’s connected to the Cedar Apartments, making it that much easier for single–parent or families in school that live in the apartments to drop off their child(ren), and make it to class on time, study or be involved in any school activities. Amity Seitz, a 1998 graduate of BSU with a major in elementary education and also going on her 8th year as the director of the on-campus center, said they will be closed down after spring semester 2011, and she has “no idea” what will happen with the building once it’s no longer a daycare. She said there are about 45 families that depend on the daycare, as well as five other daycare employees. “I think it’s very sad for all the families,” she said. According to Seitz, the center is open to BSU students first, but if there are openings, the community is next in line. If a student is in need, but all of the spots are already filled, even if they’re filled with members of the community, it’s against the rules to remove any family. The student’s next option would be to fill out the application and be put on a waiting list. Seitz said, “This will put a big wrench in anybody’s schooling with kids.” Once the daycare does close, Seitz, and the other 5 employees, will each lose their position with BSU, and she said of the job loss, “I will be taking a few years off to spend with my kids,” but is unsure of plans after that. She also mentioned that Cedar Apartments may be closing, because of budget cuts as well, but is not positive on that.
As for the Cedar Apartments, which a lot of times go hand–in–hand with the campus childcare, they are also in review for closing. They are under review, but with the decline in occupancy over the years, it doesn’t sound hopeful. Erwin said, “The University’s intent is to have an overall residence hall program that has great options for students at the best possible price. There is a Residential Life Masters Facilities Plan in complement to the Campus Masters Facilities Plan, and consideration for the future is part of that planning. If the University decides to close a residence hall, the residents are provided a notice as far in advance as possible.
According to Lisa Erwin, Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment, the daycare center will no longer be open after Spring 2011 semester, due to budget cuts. Erwin explained, “The campus childcare has three sources of income: the fees paid by parents, small grants to pay for meals/snacks for the children, and a University subsidy. In the 2008-2009 budget reductions, the University subsidy to Campus Childcare Center was eliminated. We spent the next year (2009-2010) studying ways to operate the center in a different manner, but in the end we were not able to sustain the Center without a subsidy from the University.”
She went on to explain that the subsidy to Campus Child Care was about $150,000.00 last year, and this was the minimum amount of savings projected. The cost of running the daycare was running at a higher rate than revenue, thus resulting in the closing of the center. Consequently, the subsidy from the University has increased each year for the past eight years.
When asked about the future of the six daycare employees, Erwin replied, “Conversations with AFSCME Local #1949, who are the exclusive representative of childcare staff, started in 2009. The AFSCME meet and confer committee was informed of the conversations with the Bemidji School District and Headstart then. The childcare center staff will be given notice as provided in the AFSCME collective bargaining agreement. HR/Affirmative Action staff will provide the staff with assistance regarding benefit continuation and other opportunities available to them. “
As of right now, the Child Care Center is to close after Spring semester. There are proposals being made about the possibility of it re – opening in the future, but no dates have been set yet. If Bemidji State can reach an agreement with the Bemidji School District and HeadStart, then childcare on campus will again be an option. Until then, no more childcare is being offered through BSU.
Until further decisions are made, the building that was once a lounge space for Pine Hall, might be returning to just that. 