A long-time community preschool in one of Auckland’s wealthiest suburbs could be forced to close after parents and the non-profit’s board clashed over plans to extend its hours.
The future of Ponsonby Community Preschool has been at the centre of a weeks-long stoush between parents and the independent board of Auckland Council-owned Ponsonby Community Centre, which operates the preschool.
A short-term reprieve came Friday night when board chairman Nick Davies announced changes originally expected to begin this month would be delayed so a “broader and more inclusive consultation process across our community” could take place.
No timeline was given.
“Our intention is to ensure any future decisions are made with a comprehensive understanding of the needs and preferences of the community we serve.”
However, a 47-person parent group opposing the extended hours has questioned the move, with a parent spokeswoman telling the Herald the reprieve was “a step in the right direction” but they also had “no faith ... that this is genuine”.
She claimed board members had previously been dismissive with parents in person and they feared the backdown came only after parents complained to the Ministry of Education, Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick, council representatives and media.
“What’s next? Are they just waiting for this all to die down and then rejig it again?”
However, Davies said the board was “genuinely stopping and listening to understand what the community wants and needs”.
No timeline was set because they wanted to ensure anyone who wanted to be heard was heard.
Before Friday’s decision, Davies told the Herald the board planned to extend the preschool’s opening hours from 8.30am-4pm to 8am-5.30pm after consultation with the community, and amid a falling roll. The four-week Christmas shutdown would also likely halve.
The preschool is licensed for 41 children aged 2-5 onsite but has just 25 full-time equivalent enrolments.
Under their management agreement, the volunteer-run board was required to be as inclusive as possible and the community had told them the preschool’s hours were too limited for some working parents.
“We have to enable fair, easy and affordable access.”
Parents could still choose when their child attended, and “care and quality” at the $9.50/hour preschool wouldn’t change, he said.
After earlier consultation with staff, the new hours had been expected to begin this month.
Instead, the board found itself battling a parent group threatening to remove their kids.
In a series of letters to the board last month, the group said they weren’t adequately consulted, had concerns about the centre’s management and believed the changes had already led to two teachers quitting, “with more resignations likely”.
This could lead to relief teachers being needed which wasn’t in the best interests of children.
The group included parents of past pupils at the 26-year-old preschool, and 90% of the kids currently enrolled have one or more of their parents as part of the group, they said.
They’d consider taking a court injunction to stop the process if the board didn’t agree within four days to pause the changes, including related employment processes, until at least October 31, the group wrote in a letter to the board on July 22.
Just over 90% of parents would withdraw their currently-enrolled child, and future enrolment, if the changes went ahead and teachers left, the group wrote on July 22.
The remainder surveyed were “50/50″ because their children would soon start school.
“We’re prepared to withdraw our children without prior notice if meaningful action isn’t taken to address the issues raised … we enrolled our children … primarily for the teaching staff and if they leave, we will also be prepared to leave.”
They hadn’t seen the community feedback the board said was behind its decision, the parent group said in an email to the Herald.
“Nor do parents understand what questions were asked, or when, or to whom … [we want] the board to engage with us so we can work collectively and collaboratively to find the best solution for the community.”
They weren’t against extending hours, rather the board’s “determination to push through” the changes and wanted a “pause” until October 31 so a solution could be found that worked for everyone, they wrote.
“We’d love more families to experience the fantastic environment the teachers have created … if the board continues as it’s proposing it seems likely we’d see all teachers leave, and as a result, all children leave.
“We don’t think that’s an outcome that promotes inclusivity.”
Davies said extending the preschool’s hours had been talked about informally since he joined the board in 2020, before turning formal in March or April.
The role of the board’s parent representative was to contribute to discussions and keep the parent community informed, he said.
The parent representative “recalls the idea of longer hours” being raised several times, and telling the board it was important to consult parents, the parent group told the Herald.
The centre manager was asked in March to research whether extended hours increased enrolments, but the parent representative didn’t believe a written report on findings was received by the board, the group said.
In May, the board agreed on the proposal to consult preschool staff, a process completed before the next board meeting.
“In any event, the presence of a parent on the board doesn’t relieve the board of its obligation to consult with parents.”
Davies said the manager had reported to the board, including with information on practices at other childcare centres.
“[And] as I said, we often get inquiries from people who, as soon as they understand they can’t come before 8.30am, that’s a barrier for them.”
He “couldn’t comment” on why the parent representative stood down last month.
The parent group was also upset parents were told about the proposal, and asked for feedback, in an email sent at 4.35pm on June 18, with another the next day confirming hours were being extended.
The short interval suggested the board “never intended to take parents’ feedback into account”, they said.
But Davies said they received 16 parent responses, 12 “positive”.
On the parent group’s frustration at repeated attempts last month to organise a meeting, Davies said timing an extraordinary meeting that suited all board members was a “diary lottery”.
A public meeting was now planned for Wednesday this week, Davies said.
He wouldn’t give a minimum enrolment number for the preschool to remain open, but “we’re certainly not at that point yet”.
The staff who resigned didn’t say it was because of extended hours, Davies said.
He couldn’t guarantee the preschool’s better-than-ministry-standard pupil-teacher ratios would continue, and they may have to use relief teachers in future which he - also parent of a child in early childhood education - agreed wasn’t preferred.
And Davies said the board had apologised to and were working with parents who’d taken up a short-term 30 hours-free promotion designed for new enrolments but, in error, offered to existing parents.
There was no major financial issue behind the planned changes, just a need to remain viable and inclusive, he said.
“We’re not trying to do this to make more money, we’re doing this to be more inclusive and make sure we have a viable service for the long term.
“We’ve always had wonderful and passionate parents, and we want to continue that way.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
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