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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My board of supervisors rep is running on an affordability platform. I wrote and asked them to address the affordability issues that FCPS is causing their constituents  with this calendar. Appropriate childcare for 2-3 kids for early releases and other fully optional days off [b]is running into the five figures[/b] and it’s completely avoidable. [/quote]

I understand that care can be pricey, but this is surprising to me. [/quote]

It shouldn’t surprise you in this area. October alone cost $2000. We are in jobs which require us to go to the office so the week of snow days a week after the storm was $40/hour. [/quote]

Yes, we are in Fairfax Co, but 5 figures for just early releases and “fully optional” days off?
BTW, what does that mean, “fully optional days off”? Maybe I’m not considering the same number of days.
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I consider a “fully optional” day off when a teacher workday or staff development day is scheduled that doesn’t take advantage of a holiday the way indigenous peoples’ day does or an extended break like Weds before Thanksgiving. I get 13 of those this year though YMMV. Then add early release which went from being no cost to many when they were on a Monday and could be made into a 3-day weekend to $240/day, which is $2000 for the year. Add on to that  the incredibly condescending offer to meet our “unique childcare needs” (i.e having a job) and honestly FCPS couldn’t be more out of touch. [/quote]

I still don’t see how it adds up to $10k+ for those days. [/quote]

Nanny costs $40/hour for 10 hrs (and hour 9-10 are paid at 1.5) so 13 days is $5,720, $7,720 including early release and with the very good luck that our provider accepts a 6 hour day for early release and doesn’t adhere to the 8hr minimum that the agency usually requires.
Oldest kid (sometimes both) goes to enrichment camps on a few of these days off, average an additional $250 for those days, say $1,000 to make the math easy. These aren't available to the youngest.
Some days they do trips, museums or other age-appropriate and educational activities (you know, what they’re supposed to do in school…) and you reach $10,000 very, very quickly.
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That is on you. We split the time at home with our kid and worked an extra hour a day for the week when he was home from school. The only camps we paid for were Winter break, Spring break, and Summer break. His being home cost us little financially. And there are less expensive options if you need to have your kid attend a camp then anything that you listed. [/quote]

Of course it’s on me. But it’s on every other parent as well— including those who don’t have jobs that let them make up an extra hour for a week, but instead expect them to show up at work if they want their paychecks. Fairfax politicians campaigning on “affordability” better be looking where FCPS is putting extra burdens on parents of young kids when it’s in their power not to.[/quote]

You might not like the child care that the school provides for the early release day but they do provide something.

I hate the calendar. I think it is a total disaster. The County needs to either give off the religious and cultural holidays or the Federal Holidays but not both. Or they need to use the Cultural/Religious Holidays or the Federal Holidays as Teacher work days and not have the Teacher work days on the calendar. They need to prioritize 5 days in the classroom. The calendar is disruptive to learning, which should be the first priority. It is disruptive to classroom routines and harmful to the kids who are most vulnerable, the SPED kids who require routine and the FARM kids who require food and routine.

But arguing that it is problematic because you choose to pay for a Nanny or very expensive child care options is silly. Most people are not paying $10,000 to cover child care costs. SACC is open on those days and many of the before and after school programs run camps on those days, all are far less then what you cited. It is disruptive and it is a problem for parents who don't have as flexible hours as other families but most of those families are probably using programs that offer coverage on those days.

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We have been on the SACC waiting list for three years. Its existence does nothing to lower our costs or those of other families who don’t receive it. [/quote]

I believe families receiving FARMs support are at the top of the list to join SACC, for exactly the reason you are bringing up. I am not sure about that but I remember when we went to sign up ages ago, there was a prioritization of families and FARMs was one of the things to move a family up the list. [/quote]

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