before school care-going rate by you?

Don't you need 20 minutes PLUS transportation? That's $75 a week and they have to staff as if you bring him for the full two hours or they wouldn't be able to find staff to come in for just 30-60 minutes for the later kids who are then going to leave. So you are paying a premium for the fact that they are available at all.

That said, I would check with a neighbor or someone who has a child in the same grade at the same school but would expect to pay at least $50 a week to make it worth their time.

We don't use the school offering, but ours is $10/day for up to 2 hours. The kids catch the normal bus at no cost. The preschools pickup and drop there for $5/day .

We paid for full time before and after school care not because we needed it every day, but because we needed the backup. Dh works at a jail and would get mandatory overtime. If he got mandatory he wouldn't get home before I left for work.

We didn't even really need care during the day since dh worked nights and would be home with dd. But dd was in FT after school care at the Y and she is still friends with many of those same kids. So for us between the learning, the field trips and friendships it was well worth the cost.

And we really didn't have a choice so we just did it and didn't let it bother us.

If you are asking a friend/neighbor to do it, I would say it needs to be at least $10 a day/$50 a week. You need to make it worth their time. For most households, that 10 minutes before the bus is hectic. Finishing breakfast, finding shoes, filling out forms that were forgotten... I'm a super organized person, but even I would get caught short some days.

So that's $200 a month. It may be easier on you to pay another $100 and have the school care available for back up if needed.

I'd explain the situation to your boss at work and see if you can leave home right after the bus pickup.

But to answer your OP, before school care for 5 days from 5:30am to 8am plus transportion is $60 a week here. And another $60 per week for after school care. I don't drop him off nearly that early, but it's available.

Can you scope out who else is at the bus stop and work something out with another parent? If I was asked I would certainly be happy to help out. I think 30-40 per week is a reasonable amount.

This is what I would do. 

I hope that your employer is able to accommodate you.  I've got my fingers crossed.

We all have issues in our lives. Take the advice of others on this thread or pay the $300/month. Which honestly seems reasonable for what it covers. The child care company can't just charge you by the minute. It doesn't work that way.

You really need to stop being the victim in life. It makes everything so much harder all around. Life is not out to get you.

Does he have any friends with a SAHM? I'd be willing to have one of my kid's friends come over for 20 minutes before school for next to nothing or for some sort trade off.

$300 a month for one child in before/after school childcare is actually pretty reasonable. That's an average of 20 days, so it comes to $15 a day. yes, that sounds high when you only need it for 10-20 minutes a day. But again, it gives you the peace of mind knowing that you have a set plan that is always there. And if need be, you could take him earlier. If you rely on a neighbor and their own child gets sick, then you will need an alternate plan again (more stress).

If your part-time job isn't paying you enough to pay the $15 a day and there is no other option, then you have to consider whether it is worth it to work this school year (or until he is old enough to come/go on his own). Another choice I know a lot of teacher-moms make is to move their child to their school. Don't know that every school/district allows this, but don't you teach in an elementary school? Is that an option?

Yes, I have BTDT (not teaching so I didn't get my summer off when the kids did)...I went back to work FULLTIME when DS started Kindergarten. I paid over $1000 a month for summer care for 3 school-aged kids. I get it. I really do.

But you have a kid and you have to make the arrangements.

We have before and after school care. Parents don't want to pay for it so they send the kids to school an hour early for the front office to babysit. It is so frustrating. No matter how many times you call, the kids come early. I feel for you because this is tough. Perhaps a sympathetic boss or a kiddo in his/her class would help? I paid ten dollars a week for my kids to go to daycare for 45 minutes before school started. She was the only lady I ever used for daycare and is still one of the nicest people I have ever met. I know I was lucky.

there has to be another parent at the bus stop who could keep a eye on him for a few minutes. 15 minutes is not that big of deal. I would leave DD home that long and she is only a year older. Grandma is next door if there is a problem. Mrs.C is on the other side if grandma is not home for some reason. So I don't worrie.

You work for a school, how can you change your hours?