The province of P.E.I. is considering cutting its funding to 22 private day cares on the Island, which could mean higher fees and some centres in rural areas closing entirely.

The provincial program provides a $1.20 per child a day, which means as much as $15,000 a year for some centres. That money goes to supplies, topping up wages, supervisor training, sick days, and employee benefits.

"Not only is it unfair, I just don't think that fundamentally it's right," Lori-Ann McEwen, who launched Island Montessori schools with her husband 10 years ago, told CBC News Tuesday.

McEwen said she and her husband wanted to make private day care affordable for everyone. A cut in the provincial grant program would make that a lot more difficult.

Increasing fees would close off her school to some children, says Lori-Ann McEwen. (Lindsay Carroll/CBC)

"We would have to increase our fees," she said.

The more you increase your fees, the more limited your program becomes to the general population."

Mike Lund, president of the newly formed Association of Private Early Learning Centres, said the problems could go beyond that, forcing some centres to shut down.

"Those small centres lose this funding, and they can't keep staff in, that centre essentially will close," said Lund.

"Parents in that area are without childcare."

The potential for problems is compounded by the coming end of a federal program next month that helped increase wages from $11 to $15 an hour. Montessori does not use this program, which is mostly focused on smaller centres.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said budget discussion are ongoing, and no decision has been made whether to continue the grant.