Trustee: Island Lake preschool staff taking pay cuts to keep program alive

Employees at Island Lake's village-owned preschool will have their pay temporarily slashed 25 percent in a money-saving move prompted by decreased enrollment, officials confirmed this week.

The proposed one-year cut, which still needs formal village board approval, applies to six Creative Playtime staff members, including Director Sharon Hyde, said Trustee Shannon Fox, leader of the village board's parks, recreation and education committee.

An office coordinator position also was eliminated and two teachers have been laid off, Fox said.

Altogether, the moves are expected to save $23,731 this fiscal year, Fox said.

Village leaders have openly discussed the town's financial problems during the past year, but Creative Playtime has not been publicly targeted for cuts until now.

The village's $8.2 million budget for the 2012 fiscal year is down about 8 percent from last year's spending plan.

Run by the wife of a former mayor, Creative Playtime started in 1987 and is housed at village hall. It's open to children between the ages of 2 and 5.

Tuition is $47, $110 or $165 for each four-week session, depending on the age of a child and the number of days per week the child attends classes.

Creative Playtime enrollment dropped to 56 students this fall, from 75 last year, Fox said. Cuts were needed for the school to survive, she said.

“The program was not going to make budget as it was currently structured with the existing enrollment,” Fox said in an email. “Major changes needed to be made, and this was one way to accomplish it without the program imploding.”

The two teachers whose positions were eliminated were let go because the school didn't have enough students for their classrooms, Fox said. The cuts leave three teachers, two teachers' assistants and the director on staff.

The average wage for the Creative Playtime teachers is $13.53 an hour, Fox said. The minimum wage for the entire staff is $11.50 an hour.

The pay cuts were accepted voluntarily by the employees, Fox said.

“The staff understood this need,” she said. “I have thanked the teachers numerous times for making this commitment and seeing the program through another year while we rejuvenate the program.”

Amy Grimm, a teacher's assistant at Creative Playtime, said the proposed cut will be the third the staff has taken.

“I accepted the 25-percent cut this year with the knowledge that the school continues to struggle financially, and with the expectation that when the enrollment climbs, we will be back to full salary,” Grimm said in an email. “I saw this as the right thing to do in order to keep the school viable for this school year.”

Director Sharon Hyde could not be reached for comment.

Fox's eldest daughter attended Creative Playtime for three years, and her youngest daughter is enrolled now. She called Creative Playtime “a worthwhile service to our community that deserves to be supported by the village.”

Over the next year, village officials will try to increase enrollment with a marketing effort aimed at boosting the school's public profile, Fox said.

“We have given ourselves this year to make the improvements in process and marketing that will not only ensure the survival of this vital program but allow it to once again thrive,” she said.

An early promotional step is the creation of a Facebook page for the village that will prominently feature Creative Playtime's teachers and programs. It can be found at facebook.com/VillageofIslandLake.

The village board could vote on the pay cuts Oct. 13.

Creative Playtime garnered media attention following the 2009 arrest of Hyde, who is accused by prosecutors of collecting $114,000 in pay over 10 years for hours she did not work at the school.

Hyde's attorney has denied the charges, and she has remained on staff. A trial is pending.

Charges were dropped against ex-mayor Thomas Hyde in the matter last year.