Kindergarten parents told to pay thousands for kids’ art – sparking uproar and a midnight heist7 days ago

Share

Save
Lana LamSydney
Getty Images A bird’s eye view of a young girl wearing a cream sweater making handprints on a page with blue paintGetty Images
How much would you pay for your child’s art?

That’s the question one Australian kindergarten posed to dozens of families this week when it asked them to stump up A$2,200 (£1,000; $1,400) for the pleasure of taking home a curated portfolio of their child’s artwork.

The folders included many a random blob and splodge, alongside happy snaps of the would-be Picassos making creations only a parent could love.

Billed as a fundraiser, the debt-ridden centre said the money from the portfolios would go towards whittling down a long list of overdue bills, including unpaid wages for educators.

Craigslea Community Kindergarten and Preschool in Brisbane closed last month after funding was halted amid an investigation into claims about its governance.

Its obscure request, however, has sparked anger in Queensland, with the state’s leader calling it “emotional blackmail”, regulators staging an intervention, and one parent allegedly going to extreme lengths to take back their child’s collection of artworks in the middle of the night.

How the saga unfolded
The controversy has been months in the making – tensions between management and parents at the kindergarten centre, about half an hour north of Brisbane, have been steadily brewing this year.

It’s a community-run centre affiliated with one of the state’s largest childcare providers, the Creche and Kindergarten Association (C&K). While the latter helps distribute government funding, the day-to-day operations of the centre were controlled by a volunteer committee, made up of parents and community members.

That committee was gutted last month when a dispute led to the mass resignation of its president, vice-president and secretary, leaving its treasurer Thomas D’Souza to take over the helm, according to the Brisbane Times.

The new management fired existing staff and hired temporary workers, leading many parents to remove their kids from the centre, their report said.

Parents lodged complaints about Mr D’Souza being the sole committee member, something he denied, prompting C&K to pause funding as authorities investigated the way the centre was being run.

Nine/A Current Affair An exterior shot of the Craigslea KindergartenNine/A Current Affair
The centre is about half an hour north of Brisbane

On Sunday night, the inboxes of the families with children at the kindergarten pinged with an email from management wanting to address a “tumultuous” few weeks.

“It is our turn to talk,” the email said, according to the A Current Affair programme on the Nine network.

The lengthy missive said the centre couldn’t pay its debts and had entered voluntary administration.

Hours later, another message landed, revealing a plan to sell the children’s art portfolios for thousands a pop, and asking any parents opposed to that to email back.

The request left Brooke, one of the parents at the centre, speechless.

“It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I don’t even really have words for it,” she told A Current Affair.

She added that when she decided to take the artwork without paying, the centre reported her to police.

Though it is unclear whether they are referencing the same incident, Queensland Police told the BBC it had received reports of an alleged midnight break-and-enter at the kindergarten about a fortnight ago, and was investigating.

The kindergarten management did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

But the saga has prompted public backlash, with thousands weighing in on social media and the state’s premier blasting the request as “un-Australian” and “wrong on so many levels”.

“I never saw any Picassos come home, that’s for sure. But they mean something to you,” David Crisafulli said of his own kids’ early crafts, on Nine’s Today programme.

“Let’s give the kids their finger painting and let’s get on with life.”

Getty Images David Crisafulli speaks to a soldierGetty Images
Queensland premier David Crisafulli is among those who criticised the request
On Wednesday, the Department of Education and C&K said they had launched a successful recovery operation, and had retrieved the children’s collections from the kindergarten.

“C&K recognises the importance of these portfolios and unequivocally condemns any practice that involves charging parents for their children’s portfolios,” a C&K spokeswoman told the BBC in statement.

“These important records are now available for families to collect.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education had earlier said: “Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, parents can request certain documentation pertaining to their child.

“The approved provider must make the documentation available on request.”

For these parents, their children’s art is now both priceless and free.

I run a news website. Anytime I paste a news story here (copied from another website or source),
I want you to: Rewrite the news story to BBC-standard journalism: Create a strong, SEO-worded headline that not only ranks well but also captivates readers, and make it sensational where needed without losing accuracy.
Ensure the rewritten version is clear, professional, and human-sounding (no AI clichés or generic phrasing).
Retain the original meaning and facts but avoid copying sentences unless they are direct quotes. Improve readability, flow, and structure. Position SEO keywords naturally in the headline, subheadings, and body.
Write with an engaging, journalistic tone that feels like a masterpiece. Avoid starting with “In” or other formulaic AI-style intros.
Create social media posts to promote the story: Facebook & LinkedIn: Write a short, captivating post. The news link should go in the comment section, not inside the post. Use relevant and trending hashtags X (Twitter) & Threads:
Write a shorter version of the post with the link included. Use relevant and trending hashtags Use relevant and trending hashtags for reach (specific to the story). Output format should always be: Final News Article (BBC-standard) Facebook Post (with note: link in comments) LinkedIn Post (with note: link in comments) X Post (short version with link) Threads Post (short version with link)