Parents in South Windsor lined up before the sun came up Thursday and waited for hours for the chance to sign their children up for a before-and-after-school program called the “4th ‘R.’”
The Parks and Recreation Commission runs the program, which provides recreational activities, arts and crafts and homework time for around 350 students at the elementary schools throughout the school year.
On Thursday morning, more than 75 parents were lined up, including some who waited in line for five hours before registration began at 8 a.m.
The program had a waitlist of around 100 students last year and some parents lined up again in hopes of having better luck this year.
Ray Favreau, director of South Windsor Parks & Recreation, said the program cannot accept more children because the department would need more space to accommodate them and more staff. He said it's a struggle to find qualified employees to staff the program.
“We are interviewing almost every week. We just hired two people yesterday to replace three people who left to find full-time work,” Favreau said. “So, it is a challenge and we’re working very, very diligently and trying to improve and increase the staff.”
Some parents said they need this program and private childcare costs are three to four times greater than for the town program.
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When NBC Connecticut reached out to the deputy mayor, he said that was the first he'd heard of the issue and would meet with parks and recreation department and school department to discuss how they can help in the future.
In addition to the lines, there is also an issue with the registration software on the website. The department is providing updates on its Facebook page.
