By CARLY UDY
A vital decision will be made Monday on whether Western Bay kindergartens opt in to the Government's plan for 20 free hours a week of preschool education for three- and four-year-olds.
The Tauranga Regional Free Kindergarten Association says the decision will impact on 18 kindergartens it represents from Paengaroa
to Whangamata, which currently cater for about 1300 children.
The association committee, which acts along the same lines as a school board of trustees, has already supported the policy in principle but has yet to make a decision, executive officer Patrick Zeinert said.
Mr Zeinert said once a unanimous agreement had been reached the association would begin informing parents about the Government plan.
The Government's $384 million policy is due to start in July.
Prime minister Helen Clark has said the plan for free childcare hours was "one of the most significant extensions to the education system since the introduction of free secondary education in the 1930s".
Forms will be available to all centres offering the 20 free hours for three- and four-year-olds but it will not be known until June how many centres will offer free hours.
The policy has caused controversy in many centres, particularly in major cities, with some centres saying they could not afford to offer the free hours without charging top-up fees.
Education minister Steve Maharey has ruled out any immediate changes to the funding levels or the rules but said changes were "entirely possible" once the policy had been bedded in and reviewed.
Mr Maharey acknowledged that many parents would not be able to get the funding because of resistance from centres.
However, he said he hoped the number would increase next year.
Mr Zeinert said the association had held back from giving any information to parents until its policy had been formulated.
He said a decision whether to opt in or out of the Government's 20 free hours plan would follow decisions made by independent Western Bay childcare centres.
These centres, however, are also contemplating what to do.
While parents had nothing to lose by signing up to the scheme, childcare centres needed to take into consideration just how financially viable it would be and the implications of it, Mr Zeinert said.
