Parents and grandparents across Brimbank and Melton are furious after state and federal budgets signalled the slashing of five hours a week from kindergarten schedules.
Keilor MP Natalie Hutchins held a community meeting last week to discuss the funding changes.
State and federal governments now jointly offer 15 hours of kindergarten a week for four-year-olds, but cuts mean kinders will be funded for only 10 hours.
Ms Hutchins said the changes meant many kinders would stop offering 15 hours a week by the end of the year unless councils footed the bill and funded the five-hour shortfall.
The other option is for kindergartens to hike their fees to be able to continue to offer the 15 hours.
Ms Hutchins believes kinder fees could double under this plan and is calling on both governments to reverse the funding cuts. “I think it’s going to have an effect on the long-term workforce and quality of services,” she said.
Hillside mum Lena, who wanted her surname withheld, said she had written to Ms Hutchins to voice her concerns about the changes.
Lena questioned how children would be able to adapt to five-day school weeks after only 10 hours a week of kinder.
Taylors Hill mother Cinzia Bondin, who has one daughter in four-year-old kinder and a two-year-old who will soon need kinder, agreed.
“Will teachers have enough time to teach them?” she said.
Brimbank community well-being director Neil Whiteside said the council did not directly provide kindergarten programs and therefore would not be funding the five-hour shortfall.
Melton council community service general manager Maurie Heaney said the council would be disappointed if the additional five hours of government funding ceased.
“Council has not made a decision at this stage to fund the shortfall of five hours to approximately 1700 children, which is what’s on council’s enrolment system, if the funding ceased” he said.
