Parents asked to pay $2200 for their child’s artwork to clear kindy’s debt

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A once-idyllic northside Brisbane kindergarten has plunged further into turmoil, with the committee asking parents to pay more than $2000 for their own child’s artwork to help cover debts after declaring the C&K-affiliated centre had been placed into voluntary administration.

This masthead revealed earlier this month that C&K, as the governing body, had cut funding to Craigslea Community Kindergarten in Chermside West and launched an investigation into claims a parent was running the centre’s management committee on his own.

The bitter tensions among parents that led to an exodus of staff has since escalated, with Thomas D’Souza, the parent at the centre of the claims, writing a long and accusatory 1000-word email to families on the weekend saying the centre was now insolvent and had been placed into voluntary administration.

Craigslea Kindergarten in Chermside West.

The current management committee, run by D’Souza, has been the subject of 44 complaints from parents to C&K, was being investigated by the Department of Education, and triggered a plea from local state Labor MP Bart Mellish for government action.

Thomas D’Souza, volunteer management committee figure at Craigslea Kindergarten.

Parents were further appalled on Monday when they received a late-morning email from the management committee proposing families pay $2200 for a portfolio, which was described by a parent as a scrapbook featuring their child’s artwork and photographs of them completing kindy activities.

The committee described the proposal in an email seen by this masthead as a “portfolio fundraiser” to cover debts of more than $40,000 owed to staff.

This fundraiser request followed Sunday’s long email, also seen by this masthead.

“This [sic] last few weeks have no doubt been tumultuous for everyone in this kindy community, including the management committee,” it said.

This masthead previously revealed D’Souza had assumed control of the committee after a dispute led to the previous president, vice-president and secretary resigning in August.

After the new committee removed the entire staff team, parents refused to send their kids to the kindy because they were concerned with the unfamiliarity of temporary staff.

In Sunday’s long email, the committee, led by D’Souza, accused staff and parents of contributing to the kindy’s downfall.

“We had every intention of keeping the kindergarten open,” it says.

“Relief staff were arranged at the recommendation of the agency by the C&K group, but parents chose to keep their children at home.

“If parents truly wanted it to work, you could have taken turns to be on site with the relief teachers to keep your children comfortable and safe.

“Instead, parents focused on wanting minutes of the committee, spamming the committee email address, and carrying on with your own vendettas. There was a loss of perspective at this point – the failure of realisation that the kindergarten was separate from association-related issues.”

The committee said the “nail on [sic] the coffin” was when C&K paused its funding amid concerns about the kindy’s management, “which we found out from the Brisbane Times”, the email wrote.

In a letter also seen by this masthead, Mellish, the state member for Aspley, requested a briefing with the department after parents flagged the matter with his office.

“Families have raised a number of serious allegations about the current management committee, including concerns about transparency, child safety, confidentiality and privacy of records and children’s property,” he wrote.

“The constituents state that the situation is causing significant distress and confusion as to how to proceed with this governance matter.”

The Department of Education told this masthead earlier this month it was aware of the allegations and was trying to work through the issues with the management committee.

“The department is working with C&K as the affiliate body to work through this complex
matter, and understands C&K has provided advice to the management committee regarding
the staffing situation and the process of settling the management committee membership
following recent resignations,” a spokesman said in a statement.

This masthead wrote to D’Souza through the kindy’s committee to respond to the ongoing matter but had not received a response by Monday afternoon.

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