By Sue Moore
Parents of children enrolled in the Little Lambs Learning Center were notified on December 28 by the pre-school nursery that it would be closing effective January 8. “This came as a shock to the eight families that have children enrolled as they will need to quickly make plans for a new day care location for their children,” according to Jeremy Burton, one of the parents.
“For our children, they now must make new friends. With this school being in the village these kids were likely going to go through much of their schooling together. Now the sense of community they would have learned is demolished,” Burton said.
The Schoolcraft Methodist Church, which has sponsored the center, had little choice according to Tom Oliphant, board president since October. “Our enrollments were down and we were not going to be financially stable if we continued on this course. We had to stop the bleeding.
“We tried to keep it going, but the state requirements were beyond our ability to make it financially viable. Without sufficient funding it is impossible to provide the quality of care all children deserve and have come to expect from Little Lambs Day Care. As a nonprofit arm of the church, the hope would be to re-establish the day care center if enough demand is there in the future.”
Following is the letter that was sent to the parents of children currently in the program:
“It is with great sadness that we must inform you that Little Lambs Learning Center will be closing on January 8, 2016. We have attempted to reestablish enrollment but have been unsuccessful. The center is not financially stable and is failing to bring in the revenue needed to adequately support the staff and needs of a child care center. We have exhausted all our resources and knowledge to prohibit the center from closure. This decision was not made lightly as many factors have greatly influenced our decision. Thank you for your support and we are hopeful that you are able to find quality care for your child(ren).”
Teresa Payne, director
Tom Oliphant, board president”