VICTORIA — B.C. parents will have to wait until classes have actually been disrupted by the teacher strike next month before applying for a $40-a-day government child-care subsidy.

But most parents don’t even want the money, and would instead prefer that students remain in class while teachers and the province negotiate a new contract, says the organization representing parent advisory councils.

The B.C. government launched a new website Monday (www.bcparentinfo.ca) that offered more details into how and when it will pay the daily $40 in “parent support” if the continuing teachers’ strike prevents public schools from opening as scheduled on Sept. 2.

Online registration for the subsidy won’t begin until September, said Education Minister Peter Fassbender.

“We are absolutely focused on trying to bring (the labour dispute) to resolution. We hope the (B.C. Teachers’ Federation) is willing to do the same thing,” Fassbender said in an interview.

“By the same token, we do need to give parents some information ahead of time. I know it may create some concern, but we feel it’s important to do it now rather than have people start scrambling in September if the strike does continue.”

Payments will only be made as a lump sum after the strike is settled, meaning parents will have to pay up front for daycare, camps or alternative child-care arrangements before seeing any government reimbursement.

“Most payments will be processed within 30 days after the month in which the labour disruption ends,” read the website.

Any “primary caregiver” — usually a legal guardian or parent — who has a child under 13 years old in public school will be eligible for the money. Payments for students beginning kindergarten or newly entering the B.C. public system will be made once their enrolment is confirmed, according to the government website.

Eligible parents and guardians will have four months after the strike ends to register for the money, before the funding is cut off, the government said.

Although the subsidy offer has made headlines, most parents have told their advisory councils they would prefer their children go back to school in September rather than receive the funding, said Nicole Makohoniuk, president of the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils.

“Ninety per cent of (parents) have rejected the idea of $40 a day,” she said. “They just don’t want to think about it — they want school back. Our clear message is we want school back in place Sept. 2, and we want negotiations to go on behind closed doors.”

The umbrella organization, which represents PACs across B.C., also wants discussion to shift from the issue of class size and composition toward a “classroom resources fund” that would be spent in consultation with students, teachers, parents and other staff at each school, said Makohoniuk.

Parents want to move away from quotas and ratios for class sizes and composition, she said. Those formulas have been advocated by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.

“Part of our classroom resources is to allow each classroom to be different, allow each school to be different,” said Makohoniuk. “Some classes might be okay with 30 (students) and be able to function with only one teacher, and other classes might have 20 kids and need extra help.”