Concern is being raised over a lack of daycare options as two elementary schools in Windsor's Forest Glade neighbourhood prepare to merge.
Parkview Public and Eastwood Public Schools are set to merge to form the new Eastview Horizon Public School.
Sundowners will be operating the before and after school daycare at the new school, but parents say they've been told there is no more space because the daycare provider does not have enough staff.
Those same parents, who now find themselves on a lenghty waiting list to access childcare service at the new school, say they were not informed of the space issues until late July. They now find themselves scrambling to find alternate care options, with most nearby daycares already full or bus service to and from the school unavailable.
Stephanie Gabriele has a 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son and finds herself trying to figure out what's going to happen when school starts if she can't access any childcare.
Gabriele says they were told in March they would have to register their children if they would like to be part of the Sundowners program Eastview and that someone would be in touch, but she was never contacted.
She says every single daycare in the area is completely booked or do not provide bus service, a big issue for parents like her who work.
"We don't know how we're going to get our kids from the school to the daycares. There's only one daycare and that's Alexander's Daycare over by Banwell, that is the only daycare that the bus company will pickup kids and drop them off to. None of the other daycares in the area, for whatever reason, qualify to have buses go there to drop the kids off," she says.
Gabriele says they're getting no answers about the exact problem.
"We keep talking to the school board but they're not helping us," she says. "Everybody just keeps putting it back on the school board. Unfortunalely none of the parents have heard from the school board to find out if that's the issue or if its Sundowners."
A statement e-mailed to AM800 News by a spokesperson for the Greater Essex County District School Board states "The number of spots available is determined by the provider. Sundowners is committed to registering as many families as they can to meet the needs of the community and the GECDSB is working closely with them as they process registrations."
Calls to Sundowners for a response have not been returned.
Gabriele says she sees Sundowners have adds out on Indeed looking to hire people.
"Why are they only doing it now? They've know since March how many parents need care and they know the numbers currently enrolled in both schools in the current programs that they have, that are now being cancelled," she says.
The $13.2-million Eastview Horizon is being built on the current Parkview site at 3070 Stillmeadow Rd. in Windsor and due to some delays will not open until early 2023. Students from Parkview and Eastwood Public School will begin the school year together at the Eastwood site at 3555 Forest Glade Dr.