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Published on 12/15/1999 All articles from this issue

Child-care crisis hits city-run Tiny Tots

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altos got an abrupt reminder this month that is not immune from the child-care crisis sweeping the state - there are fewer providers and a higher demand.

The entire staff at the city-run Tiny Tot preschool program submitted their letters of resignation on Dec. 1 and 2 "as a result of unresolved issues regarding the terms of our employment," according to their letter to the city of Los Altos Recreation Department, which operates the program. The four part-time staff members - Claudia Meyer, Ann Slocum, Non Mead and Cathy Koehler - said they will resign, effective next June.

Director Claudia Meyer, who has worked for the city since 1966 and at Tiny Tots for the past 14 years, said their resignations are a result of a "breakdown in communication with the city." She said staff members don't receive benefits, and they expected their salaries to be adjusted accordingly, as is the usual practice in the business world.

Meyer said the staff had been communicating their concerns to the city since last September.

"If we get better compensation, we all dearly want to stay at Tiny Tots," Meyer said.

Debby Maynard, recreation supervisor for the city of Los Altos, said the situation is complicated. The city must adhere to a prescribed process that includes studies, recommendations and a staff report.

She said the city plans to review all of its part-time salaries after January 1, 2000, including how employees are compensated.

"They aren't prepared to review one group over another," Maynard said.

Tiny Tots does not fall under the city recreation department's child care classification.

It does not require a state license to operate as do the city's before- and after-school care programs.

Tiny Tots is a preschool program with a structured curriculum.

The program serves 50 3- and 4-year-olds during each of its 12-week sessions.

The resignations come at a time when the area's child-care slots are declining and demand is increasing.

According to a report released this month by the Child Care Resource & Referral Network, licensed child-care centers fill only about a quarter of the child-care need in Santa Clara County.

The report attributes this shortage to the area's booming economy, which is pulling child-care providers from their historically low-paying positions to higher paying ones in the high-tech industry.

Tiny Tots parents said they were shocked by the staff members' resignations, but supportive of them.

Layne Long, assistant to the city manager, said the city planned to meet with the Tiny Tots staff this week "to get things back on track.

"I think there's been some miscommunications on some things," he said.

Long said he believed this was a fixable situation.