Potential cost increases and suspected kindergarten closures are causing concern as umbrella organisation Dunedin Kindergartens — which encompasses the city’s 24 kindergartens — prepares operational changes.
The society’s annual meeting tonight at the Edgar Centre is set to shed more light on the situation.
Corstorphine Kindergarten committee president and parent Sam Richardson said the Dunedin Kindergartens board seemed to have forgotten it was a non-profit organisation.
"Our community isn’t convinced there are any actual problems with our current free kindergarten model."
The changes they feared would make the benefits of attending kindergarten unaffordable for some.
Documents provided to the Otago Daily Times showed recommendations to "maximise full day and all year" kindergartens where there was demand, with "20 free hours and cost-recovery for all other fees".
Most of the city’s kindergartens had their own committees, and the board had not met them to discuss concerns as requested.
Parents were not allowed to give input as part of a review announced late last year, and the board had not shared annual meeting agenda details or a budget.
Another issue was the draft constitution, which seemed to follow a national template and to have been drafted with a network governance framework already in mind.
St Clair Kindergarten committee member and parent Michelle De Bono said it had no mechanism for mass voting.
"We don't want to adopt it until we've actually had an opportunity to help create it."
It felt like "one minute to midnight".
A board vote to adopt the constitution during the annual meeting had been postponed due to community concerns, she said.
Dunedin Kindergartens did not respond directly to the ODT yesterday, but New Zealand Kindergartens chief executive Jill Bond responded on behalf of the board.
"There has been a lot of information shared with their community over recent weeks about the direction of the association, including the future approach to governance.
"This has created uncertainty and concern for some, and for this the board apologises."
The board had postponed the vote about the proposed new constitution, she confirmed.
Queries about the potential for kindergarten closures and cost increases were not answered.
"The board wishes to make it very clear that there is no work being progressed that would see the ‘home of kindergarten’ privatised or taken over", the statement said.
Tonight’s meeting would share work progress, and questions about the future would be discussed and answered.
