Our preschool gave us three options. Help us choose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spots will NOT be plentiful next year. Many centers will have to close down permanently.

This. Many daycare and preschools will close. Supply and demand, my friends. Spots will be harder to find and could more expensive.

[Anonymous]

I would choose option 2. My son loves his school, it's extremely convenient to our home, and we hope to have our younger child start there in a year.

I wish our school would offer this option! They are closed and we are paying in full. Glad our teachers are getting paid though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a pp who goes to same chain. I’m on the fence about trust. here is my personal dilemma, maybe it resonates with others for more context:

+ We love the teachers and the local administration. Truly exceptional. My kid is so happy there. she has bad anxiety and they have been great getting her from a melting down mess to a confident, comfortable kid who loves learning.

- It’s one of the more expensive centers. The decisions are made by central office. I’ve had some issues previously navigating them. The letter last month did say that tuition would be frozen if you paid full April. There is a big price increase for next year - ranges from $100-300 a month depending on age/program. If you pay May and June with no childcare - it negates any savings.

We were razor thin tight For next year before this all happened. We stretched for our kid. Our financial situation is looking shaky at best for next year. We are barely holding onto our jobs Due to economic crisis - coupled by my now poor performance due to full time childcare while working.

It’s a hard choice - if we do #2 50% for May and June - it’s still $2000 with no childcare. Or, I can do #3 - take that $2k hire a close friend as a babysitter or stash it away as an extra mortgage payment if there is job loss.

If we go into the fall and get shut down again then...we are back to deciding between mortgage payment or childcare.

Try to find a cheaper option for Fall - assuming there are options... our backup still has space but less childcare coverage. They are not charging for May/June, did a more reasonable financial split for March/April.

It’s a catch-22.

OP here. I hear you!! Not everyone can afford expensive childcare. It's my DS's last year at this school and he's been there since he was 6 months old. So, we would like her to finish her preschool year at this school. I have a younger DD and after next year, we would like to switch to a more affordable school for her last 2 years.

I am honestly not worried about space for next year. PreK's ratio is HUGE and there will be spaces. Not everyone is dying to pay $2000 per month for pre-K when there are so many options available.

[Anonymous]

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0408-childcare-coronavirus-20200407-p5vnxem4izb3rgocoscoi5jmua-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3ik6Axfs-XWzmW0fWFfOrX4jZDUEYwVUeBNSk69x3lu1gnXfD7HIFIcnE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0408-childcare-coronavirus-20200407-p5vnxem4izb3rgocoscoi5jmua-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3ik6Axfs-XWzmW0fWFfOrX4jZDUEYwVUeBNSk69x3lu1gnXfD7HIFIcnE

Agree if they are home daycares or smaller preschools.

[Anonymous]

But fewer families will need daycare because they’ll still be transitioning back into work or still jobless. And in this “many will close” scenario it could also be easier to find a good and reasonably priced nanny or nanny share because lots of daycare workers will be out of work and more likely to become nannies than pick up another line of work.

Our daycare has handled this whole thing horrendously (terrible communication, still no clear uniform policy on tuition and making individual private agreements with families, expelling kids whose parents asked public questions about tuition decision making) and we are pulling our kid out entirely. Paid full for April but can’t imagine staying with this center any longer. We will figure something out when daycares open back up.

[Anonymous]

OP - do you mind sharing which center you go to? I think we’re at the same one and not sure what’s happening with May. I would love to talk to some of the other parents (offline) but don’t have contact info.

[Anonymous]

I have not done the math but I am sure you have. If you pay in full for April and freeze the tuition, does paying May make it more expensive than if you paid 50% for both months with no tuition freeze? No right? You will be coming out ahead either way, but smaller margins if they make you pay both months. Is that correct? I think the safer bet is to pay April in full. May will most likely be pro-rated if they are still closed (since they already offered this once, they would be crazy to ask people to pay full rate again just because - Different than centers that did not offer any discount in April).

Where you will have the hardest issue, I imagine, is when they open but things don’t feel safe and you have to pay full rate because they are open but you feel unsafe sending kids due to viral spike, but if you don’t pay you lose your spot.