Kinder watch!

By Shaun Inguanzo
PARENT-RUN kindergartens are facing scrutiny from Greater Dandenong Council after a report revealed their management committees are failing to attract new members.
Kindergartens have until the end of the year to prove they can attract new parents to volunteer committees of management before the council looks at alternatives to ensure the kinders’ survival.
Greater Dandenong Council’s community services director June Dugina said committees of management held licences for kindergartens and were therefore responsible for important functions such as employing kindergarten staff.
She said parents working longer and harder than ever before had contributed to the decline of volunteers joining committees of management.
Keysborough Ward councillor Roz Blades who served on a VCM in Noble Park in the 1980s said the council had already approached kindergartens in the past to suggest one VCM covering a cluster of kindergartens to alleviate the expectations on parents who were working longer and harder than ever before.
But Cr Blades and Ms Dugina said kindergartens had showed no interest in cluster management.
Cr Blades said skilled positions such as treasurers were even harder to fill, with paperwork and legislative requirements greater than what they were 20 years ago.
“It’s a huge worry trying to find them, because of the responsibility of dealing with long service leave, superannuation and WorkCover,” Cr Blades said.
Cr Blades called on kindergarten committees to approach the council with ideas of how to make volunteer committees of management work if they did not like the cluster approach.
“If they have any ideas how to help the situation then that would be great,” she said.
“I’m also happy to go and speak with any committee if they need advice.”