MD is looking into closed preschools charging tuition -- doesn't think it's right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need universal childcare as a benefit for all working families. People can opt out and go private, but it would be there for those who need and want it.

I have a feeling people without kids under 5 would not appreciate the massive tax hike it would take to make this happen.

The same can be said about every public service you don't benefit from individually. Every society reaches an agreement about which services (public schools, medical care for the elderly/ for the poor/for everyone, etc) everyone should contribute towards, in the interest of the common good. There's a spectrum of how many of these services each society decides to cover, based on their shared national values. We are at the extreme end of the spectrum as far as developed nations go. It's not a good place to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a preschool teacher who gets paid $20/ hour, which is actually quite a lot for a preschool teacher. I teach 9:30-1:30 and get paid for 4 hour days even though I arrive at 8:45 and leave around 2pm or later because of set up/clean up. I get no break during class hours besides a 2 minute trip to the bathroom if I can get someone else to cover my classroom so we are still in ratio. I don’t get paid for planning time or staff meetings. I spend a lot of time each week planning and setting up the classroom, prepping materials, searching the library for books to read to your kids, no extra pay. I don’t get health insurance or pension or any benefit besides 5 sick days a year. My only benefit is flexibility so I’m out when my own children are out on snow days, summer, and of course now when we are out for the virus. I’ve been making videos and doing zoom calls with my class so I have been working a little while we have been out.

I have a dh with a good salary and we are going to be okay during this time, but many of my fellow teachers are struggling and have spouses losing jobs. So the pay through the end of the year is vital to them. If they can’t get paid from the school, they will find another job, and the school will have to find new people to train and that will be hard too.

I get that you don’t want to pay for what you aren’t using, but look at the big picture. If you’re in a job making $80k+ a year, please understand that $15-20/hour is pitiful for someone who is caring and educating your children, who does it because they believe in the importance of early childhood education. Yes we chose this job, but we didn’t choose this circumstance. I feel so bad for everyone in food, entertainment, etc who are losing their jobs, I’m trying to support our local restaurants as much as possible even though we don’t typically eat out a lot.

I’m saying all this to say—it’s about supporting the people in your lives. Think about that before pulling your tuition.

I don’t understand why they can’t just collect unemployment? In Virginia it’s close to $1,000/week, which is $25/hour, probably more than they make now. And employers are allowed to continue to provide health insurance. I’d gladly pay a reduced tuition amount to cover healthcare for the teachers and let unemployment insurance pick up the rest of the tab instead of draining down my own family’s bank account during these times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No service, no tuition.

Online service, reduced tuition.

Previous threads with posters urging full payment were probably planted by preschool directors or staff. Same for all the threads urging people to get take-out.

+ 1. Look, if I’m going to donate thousands of dollars to charity during this crisis, it will be to the truly destitute and not some company that should have done business continuity planning.

Not a center director or staff. This is such a disgusting attitude towards the people you trust with your child all day. We’re affected by the Marriott furloughs and we’re still paying partial tuition because we aren’t ghouls who don’t care if our child’s teachers can eat or pay rent. Have you never seen a budget for one of these places? The margins are thin. They’re not taking your money and rolling around in it Scrooge mcduck style.

.

PP here. Wasn’t aware donating to the Red Cross as opposed to a national chain of daycares is disgusting or ghoulish. I’m a Democrat who happily pays taxes so that the poor can have a better shot in life. But I also wholeheartedly believe that businesses need to due their due diligence when it comes to protecting themselves and their employees, and not transfer the burden onto their customers. Daycares are not charities, and I won’t treat them as such with my money. If the center closes and I suddenly have thousands of extra dollars in my pocket, I’m sending that money to the Red Cross, homeless shelters, etc., who serve those who will be hit much harder by this pandemic. Our daycare center is responsible for making sure their employees continue to be fed by purchasing business insurance.

And quit acting like daycare teachers are just saints. It’s a job, just like being an architect or web developer or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a preschool teacher who gets paid $20/ hour, which is actually quite a lot for a preschool teacher. I teach 9:30-1:30 and get paid for 4 hour days even though I arrive at 8:45 and leave around 2pm or later because of set up/clean up. I get no break during class hours besides a 2 minute trip to the bathroom if I can get someone else to cover my classroom so we are still in ratio. I don’t get paid for planning time or staff meetings. I spend a lot of time each week planning and setting up the classroom, prepping materials, searching the library for books to read to your kids, no extra pay. I don’t get health insurance or pension or any benefit besides 5 sick days a year. My only benefit is flexibility so I’m out when my own children are out on snow days, summer, and of course now when we are out for the virus. I’ve been making videos and doing zoom calls with my class so I have been working a little while we have been out.

I have a dh with a good salary and we are going to be okay during this time, but many of my fellow teachers are struggling and have spouses losing jobs. So the pay through the end of the year is vital to them. If they can’t get paid from the school, they will find another job, and the school will have to find new people to train and that will be hard too.

I get that you don’t want to pay for what you aren’t using, but look at the big picture. If you’re in a job making $80k+ a year, please understand that $15-20/hour is pitiful for someone who is caring and educating your children, who does it because they believe in the importance of early childhood education. Yes we chose this job, but we didn’t choose this circumstance. I feel so bad for everyone in food, entertainment, etc who are losing their jobs, I’m trying to support our local restaurants as much as possible even though we don’t typically eat out a lot.

I’m saying all this to say—it’s about supporting the people in your lives. Think about that before pulling your tuition.

I don’t understand why they can’t just collect unemployment? In Virginia it’s close to $1,000/week, which is $25/hour, probably more than they make now. And employers are allowed to continue to provide health insurance. I’d gladly pay a reduced tuition amount to cover healthcare for the teachers and let unemployment insurance pick up the rest of the tab instead of draining down my own family’s bank account during these times.

+1 That is really the logical choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a preschool teacher who gets paid $20/ hour, which is actually quite a lot for a preschool teacher. I teach 9:30-1:30 and get paid for 4 hour days even though I arrive at 8:45 and leave around 2pm or later because of set up/clean up. I get no break during class hours besides a 2 minute trip to the bathroom if I can get someone else to cover my classroom so we are still in ratio. I don’t get paid for planning time or staff meetings. I spend a lot of time each week planning and setting up the classroom, prepping materials, searching the library for books to read to your kids, no extra pay. I don’t get health insurance or pension or any benefit besides 5 sick days a year. My only benefit is flexibility so I’m out when my own children are out on snow days, summer, and of course now when we are out for the virus. I’ve been making videos and doing zoom calls with my class so I have been working a little while we have been out.

I have a dh with a good salary and we are going to be okay during this time, but many of my fellow teachers are struggling and have spouses losing jobs. So the pay through the end of the year is vital to them. If they can’t get paid from the school, they will find another job, and the school will have to find new people to train and that will be hard too.

I get that you don’t want to pay for what you aren’t using, but look at the big picture. If you’re in a job making $80k+ a year, please understand that $15-20/hour is pitiful for someone who is caring and educating your children, who does it because they believe in the importance of early childhood education. Yes we chose this job, but we didn’t choose this circumstance. I feel so bad for everyone in food, entertainment, etc who are losing their jobs, I’m trying to support our local restaurants as much as possible even though we don’t typically eat out a lot.

I’m saying all this to say—it’s about supporting the people in your lives. Think about that before pulling your tuition.

I don’t understand why they can’t just collect unemployment? In Virginia it’s close to $1,000/week, which is $25/hour, probably more than they make now. And employers are allowed to continue to provide health insurance. I’d gladly pay a reduced tuition amount to cover healthcare for the teachers and let unemployment insurance pick up the rest of the tab instead of draining down my own family’s bank account during these times.

+1 That is really the logical choice.

Exactly. It's pretty presumptuous of these places to expect us parents to shell out a second mortgage when we aren't getting childcare in return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No service, no tuition.

Online service, reduced tuition.

Previous threads with posters urging full payment were probably planted by preschool directors or staff. Same for all the threads urging people to get take-out.

+ 1. Look, if I’m going to donate thousands of dollars to charity during this crisis, it will be to the truly destitute and not some company that should have done business continuity planning.

I hate to tell you, but a lot of the centers are borderline destitute. I don't think any of them have more than a couple months worth of expenses as a buffer. The teachers are paid very low wages, even at the best centers. And it's not some evil plan to steal your tuition money. It's childcare regulations and the cost of rent in our region. a 1:3 adult to child ratio means three families are supporting one teacher and probably the equivalent of one admin salary (think cleaning, cooking, center director, rent, utilities, supplies).

Hmmm. Sounds like bad business planning to me. Our center pays their teachers great wages for the industry, provides healthcare, yearly raises, paid time off, etc. For this reason, very very low turnover for teachers. Don’t tell me it’s not possible to have this kind of model. But it takes a tremendous amount of business expertise to get there. I’m fully aware this is not a high margin industry. You preach like I’ve never read the reports. I just know that there are chains out there making it work for both corporate and the teachers, and these processes can and should be replicated to better serve both the providers and the customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a preschool teacher who gets paid $20/ hour, which is actually quite a lot for a preschool teacher. I teach 9:30-1:30 and get paid for 4 hour days even though I arrive at 8:45 and leave around 2pm or later because of set up/clean up. I get no break during class hours besides a 2 minute trip to the bathroom if I can get someone else to cover my classroom so we are still in ratio. I don’t get paid for planning time or staff meetings. I spend a lot of time each week planning and setting up the classroom, prepping materials, searching the library for books to read to your kids, no extra pay. I don’t get health insurance or pension or any benefit besides 5 sick days a year. My only benefit is flexibility so I’m out when my own children are out on snow days, summer, and of course now when we are out for the virus. I’ve been making videos and doing zoom calls with my class so I have been working a little while we have been out.

I have a dh with a good salary and we are going to be okay during this time, but many of my fellow teachers are struggling and have spouses losing jobs. So the pay through the end of the year is vital to them. If they can’t get paid from the school, they will find another job, and the school will have to find new people to train and that will be hard too.

I get that you don’t want to pay for what you aren’t using, but look at the big picture. If you’re in a job making $80k+ a year, please understand that $15-20/hour is pitiful for someone who is caring and educating your children, who does it because they believe in the importance of early childhood education. Yes we chose this job, but we didn’t choose this circumstance. I feel so bad for everyone in food, entertainment, etc who are losing their jobs, I’m trying to support our local restaurants as much as possible even though we don’t typically eat out a lot.

I’m saying all this to say—it’s about supporting the people in your lives. Think about that before pulling your tuition.

I don’t understand why they can’t just collect unemployment? In Virginia it’s close to $1,000/week, which is $25/hour, probably more than they make now. And employers are allowed to continue to provide health insurance. I’d gladly pay a reduced tuition amount to cover healthcare for the teachers and let unemployment insurance pick up the rest of the tab instead of draining down my own family’s bank account during these times.

+1 That is really the logical choice.

Exactly. It's pretty presumptuous of these places to expect us parents to shell out a second mortgage when we aren't getting childcare in return.

+1 I plan to suggest this to my daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No service, no tuition.

Online service, reduced tuition.

Previous threads with posters urging full payment were probably planted by preschool directors or staff. Same for all the threads urging people to get take-out.

+ 1. Look, if I’m going to donate thousands of dollars to charity during this crisis, it will be to the truly destitute and not some company that should have done business continuity planning.

I hate to tell you, but a lot of the centers are borderline destitute. I don't think any of them have more than a couple months worth of expenses as a buffer. The teachers are paid very low wages, even at the best centers. And it's not some evil plan to steal your tuition money. It's childcare regulations and the cost of rent in our region. a 1:3 adult to child ratio means three families are supporting one teacher and probably the equivalent of one admin salary (think cleaning, cooking, center director, rent, utilities, supplies).

Hmmm. Sounds like bad business planning to me. Our center pays their teachers great wages for the industry, provides healthcare, yearly raises, paid time off, etc. For this reason, very very low turnover for teachers. Don’t tell me it’s not possible to have this kind of model. But it takes a tremendous amount of business expertise to get there. I’m fully aware this is not a high margin industry. You preach like I’ve never read the reports. I just know that there are chains out there making it work for both corporate and the teachers, and these processes can and should be replicated to better serve both the providers and the customers.

I mean this is all really beside the point. The assumption that families can continue to pay thousands per month when they've also lost their child care that allows them to work is preposterous. Fairly certain some families have hired the teachers at our center as babysitters or nannies (this was permitted at our center before).

[Anonymous]

The day cares can apply for a PpP loan and pay their staff and get forbearance.

If your closed, your closed. Families should conserve their cash. Stop payments. Block auto withdraw.

Smart people protect the cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And quit acting like daycare teachers are just saints. It’s a job, just like being an architect or web developer or whatever.

Well, that's the crux of the argument, isn't it? If you feel (*) this way about the person who cares for, educates and nurtures for your children, the position you are advocating for is consistent with your beliefs.

(*) Probably not the best term given the circumstances

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And quit acting like daycare teachers are just saints. It’s a job, just like being an architect or web developer or whatever.

Well, that's the crux of the argument, isn't it? If you feel (*) this way about the person who cares for, educates and nurtures for your children, the position you are advocating for is consistent with your beliefs.

(*) Probably not the best term given the circumstances

Omg get over yourself. As soon as your kid goes to public elementary school, you don’t have a choice of who “nurtures” your child. You get who you get. Teachers and childcare providers exchange a service for a fee. Full stop. They are not angels among men. Yes, they put peas in my child’s mouth twice a day. I’d trust anyone without a criminal record to do that.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone actually looking into this? A tweet isn’t a proclamation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone actually looking into this? A tweet isn’t a proclamation

Well, if you trust Hogan's deputy communications director, they are. You can always call the press office and inquire about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone actually looking into this? A tweet isn’t a proclamation

Well, if you trust Hogan's deputy communications director, they are. You can always call the press office and inquire about it.

I'm curious if they are just looking into daycares that are open to essential workers but still charging everyone else, or if they are also looking at closed daycares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone actually looking into this? A tweet isn’t a proclamation

Well, if you trust Hogan's deputy communications director, they are. You can always call the press office and inquire about it.

I'm curious if they are just looking into daycares that are open to essential workers but still charging everyone else, or if they are also looking at closed daycares.

The particular question was about closed daycares, but if you're concerned about the other category (and I agree with you that they shouldn't be charging either), definitely call Hogan's press office. I've found them to be pretty responsive.