SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - As the state moves forward with Phase 2 of its reopening plan, daycare centers and summer camps are hoping to get back to business soon – but many know that getting back to work is going to look a lot different than before.
Those running the businesses that are so important to many families say they want to adhere to the strictest standard to keep people safe, but will be operating at a massive loss if they are forced to do so under such guidelines.
Sarah Sian, the Executive Director of the Open Center for Children said, “the biggest issue I think we face, my center and many other centers, is it’s just very expensive.”
The state has actually loosened their original guidelines in hopes of making it easier for these childcare facilities to stay open.
Children will no longer be required to wear masks, though the staff will be when they are within 6 feet of one another.
The state has also dropped the requirement of having an extra preschool teacher in every room and will not make childcare centers check the temperatures of every student upon their arrival.
But daycare operator Sarah Sian says they’ll still be losing tens of thousands of dollars every month.
“I want to have two teachers or three teachers in a classroom with 10 children, but it comes down to money. If we’re cutting our class sizes from 20 children to 10 children we’re getting half the revenue so it’s hard to maintain those ratios. The biggest thing is we need more money. The industry needs funding.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Katherine Clark have filed bills that would provide billions of dollars in funding to keep these centers open.
Should they pass, it is unclear when they could see that money.
Sian said she hopes that money comes through, but if it doesn’t, she will try to find a way to stay open.
“I really feel like it’s gonna be hard but it is possible. It just involves a lot of creativity,” she said.
The Open Center for Children said they hope to open by the end of the month.
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