BERNARDSTON — Town and school officials are seeking solutions to provide child care following the elimination of the before-school and after-school programs that were available at the elementary school.

Low enrollment numbers at Bernardston Elementary School — eight children in the before-school program and 10 children in the after-school program — coupled with the loss of COVID-19 subsidies from the state for child care heading into fiscal year 2025 made the programs unfeasible, according to Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Patricia Kinsella. The program was contracted out through the Northampton-based Collaborative for Educational Services.

Recreation Department Director Jennifer Stennes, speaking to the Selectboard on Wednesday, suggested she could hire staff who are currently working for the department’s summer camp program to help continue before-school and after-school care at the elementary school. Specifically, she said the camp employees who are under 18 years old can take on after-school shifts at a rate below minimum wage, and she could also hire one or two adults over the age of 18 to assist. Stennes proposed she could help with before-school care.

“There’s no day care centers anymore,” Stennes said, expressing concern for the lack of child care, calling the town a “day care desert.”

The Selectboard noted that, because the Recreation Department is not affiliated with Bernardston Elementary School, certain restrictions may exist for the town when it comes to how the state regulates child care. Although they expressed a desire to find a solution, Chair Ken Bordewieck and Vice Chair Brian Keir raised concerns about compliance with existing legal and insurance requirements.

“Is it treated differently than summer rec?” Keir asked Stennes. “You had to have a Board of Health certification for that; does this require that? Does this require us to have different insurance because it’s really considered day care? Does this open us up to some other type of liability we’re not thinking about at all?”

The elimination of the previous before-school and after-school program was announced on June 2 in a Pioneer Valley Regional School District newsletter. Kinsella, when reached by phone on Friday, expressed her disappointment over the need to suspend the program and said she hopes the Bernardston Recreation Department will be able to find a solution.

“We will stand up and cheer for them to provide support for district families,” Kinsella said. She added that she is hopeful a full-time program can return to the school, given the benefits it has provided to families in previous years.

Bernardston resident and Sweet Lucy’s Bakeshop owner Lucy Damkoehler said her two children “took full advantage” of the before-school program, and sometimes the after-school program as well. She mentioned that in other communities like Deerfield and Greenfield, before-school and after-school programs exist to address working parents’ need for child care.

In a phone interview on Thursday, Bordewieck said the town is committed to finding a solution with the Recreation Department and the school district. With the start of the school year quickly approaching, Bordewieck explained that the YMCA could act as an interim option until a program is solidified.

“If we need the Y as a stopgap, that may be a very serious possibility,” Bordewieck said.

If the decision is made to bus children to the YMCA, Bordewieck said the town could potentially arrange to have a bus pick up kids at the elementary school. Funding could come from the school budget. If the elementary school or the YMCA could not accommodate this, “the town has to come up with a solution that’s going to work at the elementary school,” Bordewieck said.

Bordewieck noted that a more concrete plan is being researched by Stennes. He said Stennes has already garnered support from families who are keen to see before-school and after-school programs restart at the elementary school.

“I would say that there’s an enthusiasm for the Selectboard to find a solution that includes the Recreation Department,” Bordewieck said, “because we have that much confidence” in Stennes.

The Selectboard will meet again at a later date to assess a solution that ensures compliance with the state’s day care regulations.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.