Parents scramble as local day care announces its closure
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Dozens of families are scrambling to find childcare after a Brunswick County day care announced plans to shut down.
According to a letter sent to Leland Christian Academy parents Friday night, the day care could shut its doors any time between now and May 27 due to staffing shortages.
Working parents, like one mother who wished to remain anonymous, said that’s when she and her husband began to panic.
“Uhhh, how are we both going to be able to keep working and find somewhere for our children to go?”
Father of a three-year-old student, Matthew Stewart says the school has closed for 14 day stints multiple times last year. Whenever that happened, the work from home dad would take care of his daughter from 9-5, working 6-2am to catch up. Since Friday, Stewart has realized there’s a shortage of childcare in Leland.
“We’ve got an interview next week for one and we’ve got her on three different waiting lists right now just trying to find something. And in the meantime we’ll have to use me,” Stewart laughed nervously.
With possibly days until Leland Christian closes, working father Matt Maykish has his two children on five different waitlists. He dreads telling them they might lose their friends with no notice.
“But what’s going to break out hearts is when our girls aren’t going to go see their friends and teachers,” he said.
LCA has had multiple violations with North Carolina Department of
Health and Human Services in the past. Last month, the agency found six violations at the school, some involving safety regulations, others lack of training and policy review.
Parents say frustration with the Board has mounted. Many accused them of a lack of transparency in several instances when students could have been at risk.
“”Yes, I mean I’m glad that I trust the teachers, because I don’t trust the administration,” said one mother.
Maykish continued, “But I just am frustrated by the lack of transparency from the board that this kind of seems to have been done…. within 48 hours our world has been changed.”
We reached out to Leland Christian Academy about their closure. They responded:
“Providing highest quality educational experiences in a Christian setting is our top priority at Leland Christian Academy. Unfortunately, like others, we have been impacted by staffing shortages. As a result, our Board members met with school staff last week and informed them of our decision to close the school at the end of this school year on May 27.”
