As many of you are aware, the Provincial Government Budget announcement promised 20 new Seamless Day child care pilot programs. These programs are rolling out very quickly, and we understand that the Ministry of Education has already contacted some School Districts to partner on these pilots. In turn, some Districts have contacted the applicable CUPE Local to inform them that this project had potential to move ahead. Some of those communications have indicated the need to meet to agree on how the pilots should roll out. We have been told that these Districts are awaiting resources from BCPSEA, for example a template LOU.
To date, there have not been any discussions beyond a conceptual idea of a provincial template being crafted to be shared with CUPE Locals/Districts to guide their discussions in the implementation of a Seamless Day Pilot. We will continue these talks with BCPSEA over the course of the next several weeks.
In the meantime, if you have not already been made aware of a pilot project, we request that you communicate with your District Administration to see if they are being considered for, or have been granted, a Seamless Day child care pilot. If a pilot is going ahead, or may go ahead in your district, please communicate with David Fleming, Child Care Campaign Coordinator, dfleming@cupe.ca. We also ask that you work with David, who will assist in the coordination with other K-12 locals. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the best possible implementation and that you all have access to the information you need to support discussions with school districts.
In solidarity,
Paul Simpson
President, CUPE K-12 Presidents Council