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So today I got a letter from my daughter's school that she isn't registered for the lunch program. I called saying that I pack her a lunch every day so I don't need it. I was then notified that the program doesn't cover lunch but the supervision instead. Why do we need to pay someone (outsourced) to sit in a classroom to watch the kids eat? Is that not what the teacher is for? Is that not what the tax dollars pay for? Like I now am forking out $400 in a school year so I can have someone watch my kid. For 30 minutes at lunchtime. I'm outraged. Anyone have any insight on this dilemma? As if the pandemic was enough now I need to find time to leave work yet again to pick up have lunch and drop off. I work 8-5. How is a regular parent supposed to deal with this? Advice?????  
 
Edited by Cans2, 2020-09-14 18:42:13

Teachers will actually also be on their lunch break, pretty sure they are not expected to work through lunch with no break what so ever?!  
 
So yes, you do need to either take your child home for lunch or pay and have them supervised. The supervision is hired outside staff organized for your convenience by your parent counsel., its not school staff. And it's not for 15 minutes, it is for the ENTIRE lunch hour.  
 
We had our kids in the program for years, with 2 kids it worked out to be $1 per day at our school. Seemed pretty reasonable to me as if I had to hire Mom close to the school I'm sure it would have been $10 minimum?

But every other school in the province has no problem?? I'm just confused. I came from Portage where there are teachers and EAs to share responsibilities. I'm not saying the teachers aren't allowed a break.

That would be saying that you at your day job your coworker cannot cover you for your break so you have to hire someone from out of the company to do your work.  
 
Edited by Cans2, 2020-09-14 18:29:41

This is how it’s been always for the most part. You ask about the teachers but my question to you is when are they supposed to eat? When do they get a break? They are already stretched pretty thin with all of the extra duties that they are responsible for especially now with covid.  
The cost does seem crazy, I don’t disagree but what if the kids did eat alone and there was an emergency? Say your child choked on their lunch. Would you then be complaining about why is no one watching the students?

So let me get this straight. I get 30 minutes for lunch in my 9hr day. The kids have 1 hour to eat then play. Teachers and EAs cannot share responsibilities? They don't all have to take breaks at the same time and I never said to leave the kids alone in the classroom either. You must have teacher friends that complain about workload. If I could afford it, I would have homeschooled my daughter instead of sending her to the smallest school in brandon.  
 
Edited by Cans2, 2020-09-14 18:49:36

First off - You didn't get a letter from your child's school. You go a letter from the YMCA.  
 
Second - I am pretty sure this is not the first time you have been made aware of the program details.

It’s been this way in Brandon at every elementary school for years. My oldest is in his mid 20’s and we paid for lunch program then too. Only kids that are bussing students (live more than 1.6km from school) are covered by Brandon School Division. The rest are covered by the parents that need lunch program. It pays for supervision for the entire hour. Teachers and EA’s should get a lunch break too. Usually it’s the Y program or parent council in charge of lunches here, and they need to pay staff.  
And you should feel lucky you have the option to still pay it and have her attend. Our lunch program back when, only had eligibility for 75 spots, and had to be registered and post dated cheque’s in by the end of the previous school year to get one of those coveted spots! Many kids were on waiting lists to get in.  
 
Edited by Cheezies, 2020-09-14 19:23:10

I am pretty sure most of the schools in brandon have some sort of lunch program whether ran by the YMCA or parent run. The kids who are bussed to school get to stay and the ones who live within school zone either go home or pay for the program.  
 
I work a regular mon to fri job 8-4 and sure I could work my lunch to fit my kids. But the way I look at it is that's also my lunch break and paying the 40 a month for them to stay is worth it so I can get a break through the day as well.

You either must be new to Brandon, or new to the school system. OR... maybe Covid has messed with everything.  
 
Here's how it works in Brandon, at least pre-Covid:  
 
If your child is bused, the school division provides lunch supervision. both for eating and on the playground. This is because your child lives too far from the school to go home for lunch.  
 
If your child lives within the 1.6 km (1 mile) and therefore isn't eligible for busing, the expectation is that they go home for lunch because they are technically walking distance. They are expected to return just before the bell.  
 
If your child doesn't qualify for the busing/lunch program, you have the option of paying to utilize the parent-run lunch supervision program (which is run by the Y on behalf of the parent council in some schools). You're basically paying for child care.  
 
Some schools, like St. Augustine, where there is no catchment and so most the students are like outside of the 1.6 km (but the majority do not qualify for busing), will provide a lunch program free of charge. I believe this is the decision of the individual school.  
 
Most schools in Manitoba function in a similar way, including most schools in Winnipeg. People coming from more rural areas are often surprised by this, but it makes sense that it's not the norm in areas where the vast majority of the school population is bused and therefore would qualify for some sort of lunch program, therefore it's extended to all.

Okay, as perfectly explained by ABBYSMUM, I think everyone understands what happened with this circumstance that there was a miscommunication on what CANS2 expected with her daughters School Lunch Program. She knows it, we know it ...So what's the fix?... Pretty much what is stated in the letter. Go now, to the YMCA and fill out the register form tonight or first thing tomorrow ( check to see what their hours are). Email Ang when you get home and let her know it's done. Explain your confusion in the interpretation of an "lunch program" and request (beg) to have your daughter to attend, because of your work ( even though you haven't paid. ...yet). And hopefully the problem ends, because there might be a cap on the number of students allowed into the program or the policy might be strict with the payment must be done before attendance. The money issue will fix itself (it is what it is, nothing can change the fact that we pay too much for everything). Live and learn. ...And read everything the school sends/provides to you and understand it. That should prevent any more headaches from the Brandon School Division.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

my advice is to go to the school every day to watch her yourself or else be willing to pay someone else to. Is the price a tad exorbitant...I think so. But...wait for it...teachers are not babysitters. Period.

I hardly would call the fee exorbitant. It cost me $35 a month for 10 month school year, so $350/yr to have my son in the lunch program at his school (run by the YMCA). So works out to a $1 something a day ... money well spent in my opinion to know that he was safe, supervised and with his friends so I was able to work my 9-5 job without interruption. It can be deducted as child care on your tax return so that saves you a bit in taxes.

I was wondering about that as well. Did the child subsidy not recently go up substantially, not to mention extra money from the government if needed for child care? This would apply, no?

 
 
Edited by Gussins, 2020-09-14 20:58:09

The title of this discussion should have been, "I didn't read the paperwork I was given and am now outraged that I have to pay for services". As others have mentioned, the best advice here is to call them immediately and get properly registered and payed up before you lose that spot.

Cans2 has a point in being upset about this. I don't know of any other province with such a silly system.  
 
The basic premise here is that the children who cost the system the most (those that are bused) may remain at school for lunch, for free. Those that cost the system the least (school division does not have to pay for busing) are required to go home or to pay for the privilege of remaining at school.  
 
I understand that it has been this way for a long time, but that doesn't make it logical and it doesn't make it good policy. It's a ridiculous concept that presents a significant burden to some parents and not others. It's also unfair. "It has always been this way" is not an excuse for bad policy.  
 
I'd also expect a better written letter from anyone involved in children's education. Good grief.

https://www.gov.mb.ca/minister/min_education.html  
 
You can always go straight to the top with your complaint.

What other cities and provinces do? You live HERE!  
 
2 choices. Pay $30 a month for supervision or leave your job everyday and pay $30 a month in gas.  
 
You’re not entitled to free daycare anymore than the rest of us.

It actually makes perfect sense.  
 
A child who's bused lives too far away to go home for lunch. Ergo, they must stay for lunch. Because the school division cannot provide a school within 1.6 km of their home, they bus them and provide them with lunch supervision. They ensures accessibility.  
 
A child who lives within 1.6 km of the school is capable of going home for lunch because they are walking distance.  
 
It's not the school division's responsibility nor problem that parents work. School is supposed to be education, not child care. Child care (for a fee) is provided as a courtesy, but not a requirement. The only requirement is that schools is physically accessible, which this policy fulfills.

That a lot of people are being excessively mean to this op. I don’t live in Brandon but I have heard about this situation over school lunch times. It is fair to say that the op should have been aware of this before their child started school in Brandon but it is also fair to say that a parent coming from a different area may not have realized the differences. In most schools outside of the city, school staff switch on a schedule to carry out lunch duties which is entirely reasonable to expect. The Brandon situation does potentially make things difficult for working or low income parents so have a heart and be kind and understanding towards someone new in our community .

The subsidy only applies to licensed child care. I don't believe the Y programs that run in the schools are technically licensed child care, but runs under a different type of license/legislative umbrella, and therefore doesn't receive subsidy. At least that's my understanding of the situation.  
 
(This is different than the Y daycares, which are licensed facilities.)

Every year there's a thread about this. Every. Bloody. Year. I think people are just tired of people complaining about something that's a long-standing policy.  
 
Part of moving to a new community (which I did about 15 years ago) is learning the rules of the community. I lived in Brandon 5 years before I learned certain traffic by-laws that are unique to here. I also learned the hard way. But guess what? That information was always publically available. The onus is on me to to learn the rules.

Roughly $1.85 day for someone to watch your child for an hour a day so you don’t have to go pick them up for lunch? I am not sure what the problem is. Sounds like a good deal to me.

For $1/day, I am fine with my child having supervision while eating for safety and to save me the trouble of having to come home, prepare meals, and get them and myself back on time. The supervision (not a teacher as they also are mandated breaks) makes sure your child eats what they should, washes and follows COVID protocols, ensures child safety, and has a break with his/her friends. Come winter, this is well worth $1/day. We also had the option of sending our child to their daycare at lunch, but it would have cost us about $5-6/day. Plus the headache of walking/dressing up for winter...pass!  
Most schools will send this info prior to school start. It's possible it was misinterpreted, but nothing to be outraged about.  
 
Edited by inittowinit, 2020-09-15 12:18:20

I don't think it is reasonable at all to expect school staff to babysit for free whether on a rotating schedule or not. It is more reasonable to expect the parents to volunteer their time on a rotating schedule.

Well when I was at school all of the staff were on a rotating lunch duty schedule and so were the oldest 2 grades of kids. It was expected of them, part of the job. Staff rotate lunch duty in many other Manitoban schools, what’s the big deal with doing that? Maybe Brandon school division is behind the times and needs to modernize it’s staff contracts.  
When I was employed my lunch hour was “flexible” . That meant that if my employer required me to work or adjust the timing of my break then that was expected of me.  
School staff are public servants paid by the public purse. It’s time to reform what is expected of them.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-09-15 21:13:37

Maybe the parents should all donate 1/2 of their lunches a month at no  
Charge to watch all the kids?

That it is time to reform what is expected of them. They are educators and should be treated as such. They are not social workers, they are not babysitters, they are not parents. They are there to educate period. If you expect more from them then they should be financially compensated. If not, then there should be more TA's hired. Why is there such a lack of parental involvemlent in the schools lately?  
 
And since you brought up the topic of the 'public purse', the public purse compensates parents very well every single month and that compensation is expected to assist in covering costs exactly such as these.  
 
Edited by Gussins, 2020-09-15 23:07:51

Financially compensated? Last I checked, they get a paycheque?!  
 
As far as parent involvement, since more and more parents are working full time to make ends meet, It’s not feasible to be available over the lunch hour. However, I had no problem paying the lunch fees when my kids attended the lunch program, I felt they were nominal.