Nine pre-schools could have their budgets cut dramatically following a Christchurch City Council decision today to remove funding guarantees.
Most of the centres are in struggling neighbourhoods and all are run by their communities on a not-for-profit basis.
One of the centres at risk of losing its $30,000 rent subsidy is the Kids First kindergarten in Aranui.
Sherryll Wilson Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Kids First chief executive Sherryll Wilson said it was in the city's most deprived community and raising fees to meet a possible shortfall was not an option.
"We're going to have to sit down and re-examine our budgets, re-look at our ability to provide the quality service that we're giving to those families in Aranui, if in fact we can continue to give that...high quality programme that we offer at the moment."
As a large not for profit organisation Kids First was in a better position to absorb the extra costs that may come their way as a result of today's decision.
But she worried about the other eight pre-schools in the council's sights that were stand-alone not for profit centres run by parents and volunteers.
"This is going to really push them I believe whether they can retain offering these services to the people of Christchurch.
So they will have to do some real soul searching."
Jason White Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Jason White is the chairman of the Board of Trustees at Moa Kids, a community run not for profit pre-school in Redcliffs.
Removing its $30,000 rent subsidy would be a cruel blow to a community that was already fighting to save its primary school from being closed by the government, he said.
"I don't think the community would be willing to accept it at all.
"If the community got wind they were losing another community resource in the bay area, I think we could see a big turnout."
Mr White worried Moa Kids could be a prime candidate to lose its funding because of perceptions the area is well-to-do.
"The perception might be that we've got more money than other areas but families here are often doing it just as hard as other families in Christchurch.
"We're the only one in this greater bay area offering this resource. It is a different option for parents to go through a community run pre-school."
None of the three pre-schools RNZ News spoke to had been consulted by the council before today's decision and all were shocked it would make such a major decision without talking to them first.
The councillor chairing the working group that proposed the change, Andrew Turner, said at the moment money only went to the centres because they occupied council-owned buildings and not on the basis of need.
"This has been funding that has been ring fenced for these organisations, has been granted year on year on year, without any competitive application process."
None of them were necessarily having their funding removed and they would simply have to compete with other community groups for the money, he said.
"We just need to make sure we're getting value for money from council funds that go into the community in terms of the social outcomes we're getting in relation to the amount of funding that goes into any activity, whether it be an early learning centre or whether it be something else."
The pre-schools have until the end of April to get their funding applications in and will find out in August if they've been successful.