Wait. Why are childcare workers in this area so poorly paid?
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Anonymous
Guidestar.org They have to be registered as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) though |
Anonymous
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Former director here.
https://www.costofchildcare.org/ is a great tool to explain. I was a director for 10 years in high quality programs in DC & VA (federal, university, all NAEYC-accredited) where we managed to pay teachers reasonably well, with benefits and etc. But our space was free. About 85-90% of revenue went straight to salary / benefits. We tried to keep tuition at a price that reflected the true quality of care. Occasionally we had years with good fundraising, or 100% enrollment, that allowed us to sock away reserves (which we needed, for example, during shutdown). One thing most posters forget is that you need lots of extra bodies. A twos room may have 12:2 ratio, but that doesn’t mean there are only 2 teachers. Most centers are open 11 hours/day, so you need to cover all those hours, plus breaks where there still need to be 2 people. Plus if you’re giving generous PTO (say 25 days), you need another person to cover all those hours. And you always need some wiggle room in case a teacher quits so you can still meet ratio while hiring. Now, you also have to consider feeder rooms, and the fact that 3s and 4s rooms lose children to free PreK. So if you want 20 4s (1 class / 2 teachers), you need 24 3s (2 classes / 4 teachers), 24 2s (same), 24 toddlers (only now it’s 3 or 4 classes with 3 teachers each). To feed into that, you need 3 or 4 infant classes with 3 teachers each. So a center with ~ 116 kids (anything less is almost impossible to break even) has about 31 full time classroom teachers. Add 4-5 floaters and 3-4 admin for about 40 FTE. That’s 1:3 not the 1:10 you were basing your budget on. Then you budget for 85% enrollment so that you can stay in black if kids come and go. Then add professional development, tuition reimbursement, retirement, and all the other things that make a professional program. And food service— which was always one of the top expenses after salary. That’s not including materials, supplies, capital expenses... It’s not a profitable field, and teachers are subsidizing the true cost of care through low salaries. |
Anonymous
Add $50k to OP’s budget for the cost of part-time bookkeeping & audit / 990 prep. —former di |
Anonymous
| Your teacher:student ratios are way off. In Arlington, the 3yo ratio is 1:8, and at our center, it is 1:7. |
Anonymous
| What about admin staff? At our DD's preschool, there are 2 admin staff that give tours and do all the paperwork. Then for food, there's a full-time kitchen employee (or two) to prepare the food. Also your rent seems low, and remember benefits costs for all employees. |
Anonymous
Guidestar |
Anonymous
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Because without government subsidies, most working parents cannot afford expensive childcare.
This is why France and other civilizes nations have SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE. The US is tops on many issues, such as protections for people with disabilities, but lags behind lamentably on healthcare, child-centric policies (parental leave and childcare) and gun control. |
Anonymous
You are literally just making up numbers. Rent is probably much higher on a facility that has at least three classrooms/one office/outdoor playspace/kitchen facilities/appropriate bathrooms, ditto for utilities (electricity, water, heat, phones--landline and cellular, internet) and insurance (they'll be paying into workers comp, plus insurance on the facility and equipment, plus insurance for potential injuries to parents and kids). I don't see any numbers for custodial/maintenance staff and supplies, or administration. Our center has a full-time admin person to handle payroll, bills, help with licensing and certification, ordering supplies, admissions, etc. Is one of those teachers doing food prep? If not, you need another staff member for food prep and cleanup, too. And only $1000 a month for all office and classroom supplies, including art supplies, computers, phones, maintaining playground and classroom equipment, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, wipes, laundry detergent, etc. And is that $60K a year base salary? Don't forget the employer's share of taxes! And obviously you aren't giving your employees health insurance--if so, you need to add that in. And don't forget the cost of substitute teachers! |
Anonymous
As is her assumption that a center with only 10 2 year olds would be able to keep 40 preschool slots consistently full. |
Anonymous
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You need way more than 9 teachers and assistants for 50 kids. A typical daycare is open 55 hours a week, plus people take vacations, breaks, etc. so you need floating staff.
And there are a lot of other part time and contracted staff... if you have meals provided on site, you need someone to prep the meals, grounds maintenance with the playground etc. Not to mention specials teachers like music, etc. |
Anonymous
| supply and demand child care is a low skill job that doesn't require a college degree |
Anonymous
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The premise of this thread is absurd. Those numbers are completely made up. The staff numbers seem really low to me, first of all (my child's toddler room has more than 1 teacher per 5 students because they do shifts throughout an 11 hour day); and you assumed nothing in terms of administrative fees. I'm sure they have really high licensing fees, security fees, liability and insurance, etc.
I agree that childcare providers should be paid more; personally I think the entire system should be subsidized by the government because otherwise it doesn't add up; but that's just the lefty in me thinking our government should provide services to people who need them rather than tax breaks to billionaires. |
Anonymous
Not true in DC. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/district-among-the-first-in-nation-to-require-child-care-workers-to-get-college-degrees/2017/03/30/d7d59e18-0fe9-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html?utm_term=.4a4674fd8e2c Our daycare took a huge hit when this law went into effect. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but they had a lot of turnover (staff w/o degrees had to leave) and a harder time recruiting replacements. The daycare business seems HARD, I can't imagine running one. |
Anonymous
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Not everyone can be paid well. Most of the time ppl working with children/human services get the least.
But if you invent something really cool or can defend a criminal that’s where the money is. |
Anonymous
Maybe find a less racist term to use for your argument |