NORTHAMPTON — Parents of children at Smith College’s Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill left a Monday night meeting with college human resources officials frustrated, saying their questions about the center’s impending closure went unanswered.
Smith College announced last week that it would close the center next June after a century in operation. The news left families and staff, who were given little notice, angry and in a state of dismay.
Parents were invited to bring questions and concerns about the closure to a virtual forum Monday with Anne-Marie Szmyt, Smith’s vice president for human resources. Those who attended pleaded for more transparency from the college and said the decision would leave them, and the region, short on childcare.
Fort Hill parent Mehammed Mack, a Smith faculty member, said that although the college initially described the closure not as a “budget-relieving measure” but as a way to expand its overall childcare benefit, the change would leave families with fewer financial resources.
“The financials of this suggest in every possible way that this is a cost-cutting measure. The reason I say that is because Smith faculty used to have a discount of 25%, which amounted to over $5,000 [for childcare], and now will only receive $2,250,” Mack said. “The amount that they contribute to the dependent care fund that we get is less because Smith’s contribution is going to count towards a dependent care fund. So both on the tax front and on the the money front, we’re losing. Smith employees are losing.”
Under the college’s new pending childcare program, an estimated 350 eligible Smith employees can receive up to $2,250 per year per child for infants and toddlers aged 2 and younger, up to $1,250 per year per child for preschool children and up to $500 per year per child for elementary school-aged children ages 5 through 12 at any licensed and accredited childcare provider.
Mack asked Szmyt whether a $1,200 benefit would let a Smith employee with a toddler who could not afford Fort Hill pay for a similarly priced or more expensive option. He also asked why the college had not considered sliding-scale pricing, or a fundraising effort among parents and staff who could afford to contribute, to keep Fort Hill open.
Despite thanking each parent for sharing his or her question and noting how much their concerns are “appreciated,” Szmyt offered few answers for families who are left searching affordable childcare.
“I appreciate very much you putting the thought into about did Smith consider fundraising for [childcare] at Fort Hill, and the answer to that is that using institutional donor funds to heavily subsidize a service used by a small segment of employees creates even more complex issues of inequity across our broader faculty and staff,” Szmyt said in response to Mack. “Instead, we are committing college resources to this new flexible benefit that provides financial childcare support to all eligible faculty and staff.”
Other parents in attendance, such as Veeka Stanton, asked for clarification about the college’s claim that the daycare’s closure was not a financial decision. Stanton followed her initial question by asking about the center’s overall financial impact on the college.
In response, Szmyt explained that the decision to close center was made in an effort for the college to afford the “expanded benefit” for childcare.
According to Smith’s frequently asked question page on the closure, the “expansion” aims to spread employee childcare benefits out to all eligible employees. There are currently 45 employees taking advantage of the childcare benefit.
‘The decision and the assessment was on expanding the benefit so that every employee, if at all possible, could take advantage of receiving financial assistance for early childhood education and daycare … The decision was not ‘should we close Fort Hill,'” Szmyt said in response to Stanton’s question. “In order to afford to fund that, we needed to determine if we’re going to be doing that, and everyone is going to be receiving the same benefit. We cannot afford to continue to subsidize Fort Hill, and then in addition to that, the overhead for Fort Hill.”
The college’s FAQ page says the closure is unrelated to the Fort Hill teachers union’s ongoing negotiations for a first contract. Asked by a parent about the teachers’ future, Szmyt said whether Fort Hill staff can stay at Smith after the closure depends largely on the outcome of that bargaining.
“I can’t say to you that we know yet. What the union leadership, on behalf of the teachers, will be asking for,” Szmyt said. “We have to wait to see what the union is looking for that is going to be most meaningful … we’re not going to guarantee them jobs.”
Szmyt was also asked about the impact Fort Hill’s closure would have on working professionals throughout the region, given that childcare, especially for infants, is scarce in the region.
She responded to Smith employee and Fort Hill parent Micah Walter’s question about how the college planned to ensure there were enough enrollment slots in the region for eligible employees by noting that the college has been asking childcare providers to hold slots for current Fort Hill students next year.
“We are also asking for commitments to hold slots as they’re becoming available, as providers are able to do that, so that we will have much more information around referring people to those centers that we know have availability, and approximately when they will have that availability,” Szmyt said. “It’s up to the individual provider to make that decision, but that is certainly what we are appealing for.”
Following the meeting, numerous parents present voiced their frustrations with the college, including Laura Aierstuck, who mentioned that even if the college came through on its effort to “hold slots” for their employees’ children, it would still serve as a general disservice to the rest of the region.
“She kept saying she would ‘hold slots,’ helping Smith employees have access to childcare, and that to me is just such a problem when it comes to respecting the community,” Aierstuck said. “What about the larger community and people who need access to childcare? It’s not just us.”
Carolyn McDaniel, a spokesperson for Smith, did not comment on Monday night’s meeting, but instead referred the Gazette to the college’s FAQ page.
Parents and Fort Hill teachers will organize a rally advocating to keep the school open at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Pulaski Park.
