Daycare at risk of closing
New premises have to be found or operation will shut down by end of the year
A local daycare centre is on the verge of shutting down after nearly 30 years in operation because it cannot nd an a ordable new location.
“We’ve been searching the Truro area for a new space that fits our budget and we’re not able to secure a place,” said Liz Fleck, director of the Near to Me Daycare centre. “And because we are a non-pro t daycare we don’t have a large budget to afford rent.”
For the past couple of years, the centre has been operated out of a local church hall.
Although churches are normally exempt from paying property taxes, new provincial legislation requires that revenue received through space rental must be taxed.
“If they rent to a daycare it takes their exemption away and they have to pay taxes on the portion that the daycare is renting from,” Fleck said. “So, then that eliminates a lot of spaces that may be a possibility for non-pro t daycares.”
e centre has to move from its existing location by Dec. 31. But with a budget of only $1,000 per month to spend on rent and utilities, trying to nd a suitable location that meets day care centre regulations has become a discouraging task, Fleck said.
“And we’ve been searching the Truro area for a new space that fits our budget and we’re not able to secure a place,” she said. “We’re really just trying to get as much word out as possible in hopes that somebody knows of a location that may be tting for us.”
Near to Me is licensed for 29 child-care spaces but has “lost a lot of our children” since the notice of pending shutdown went out to parents. Six sta members also stand to lose their jobs.
Christine Cutler’s four-yearold daughter Mallory has attended the centre since she was 20 months old.
As a parent, board member and former sta er, the prospect of the centre facing permanent closure is both daunting and heartbreaking, Cutler said.
“I’ve cried,” Cutler said, stopping to collect herself.
“Mallory has learned to read, write, draw, colour. She can spell her name, her brother’s name, she writes pretty clear. ey do a lot of play with the kids but if the kids want to spend their whole afternoon drawing and colouring they’ll let them do that as well.”
One of the primary reasons Cutler connected with Near to Me was the exibility the centre provides for parents who can drop their children o as early as 6:15 a.m. It is also open until 7:15 p.m. – others close at 6 p.m. – which provides greater exibility and access for shift-work parents.
“I just think it’s going to be very sad for Mallory to have to move on to somewhere else and have somebody di erent taking care of her,” Cutler said. “And I think about the sta . Some of the sta have been here almost since the beginning and now they have to look for other work or they’re out of a job.”