A half-hour shift in daily class start times has some parents of students attending LaSalle Public School upset because they feel they will be paying more for day care service when school resumes in September.
Scott Scantlebury, public relations officer for the Greater Essex County District School Board, said Monday that, because of school bus transportation considerations, the school has decided to adjust the daily start time from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m.
He explained that high vehicle volumes on the cul-de-sac at the end of Mayfair Avenue, where the school is located, and traffic concerns caused by parents dropping their children off in the school zone plus the need to co-ordinate the number of buses available for other schools necessitated the change.
“It was the only way to alleviate the problem,” said Scantlebury.
But several parents have complained that they may face extra child care costs because of the shift. Parents who have been able to drop their children off for 8:45 a.m. and make it to work for 9 a.m. would be faced with changing their own work hours or place their children with daycare at at the beginning and at the end of the school day.
“Some parents that work didn’t require daycare in the morning,” said Amy Hadre, as she waited for her two children at the end of the day. “Now they have to have them in daycare before and after school. It would be an inconvenience. … It can cost a lot of money to put three kids in daycare.”
Another parent, Melanie Moir, agreed. “My mom is my caregiver,” she said. “But that’s not what everyone has. They could be stuck.”
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