Email announcing April closure ask for full April tuition

[Anonymous]

Lawyer up and sue these bastard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This just rubs me the wrong way so much. We're at a community nursery school that sees itself as some kind of local treasure (it's been around for a long time; low turnover; hard to get it in). It is not cheap and it's in a UMC area. How can they ask for full payment when there's no service?? You contract for the academic year when you go here. I'm tempted to burn all bridges and say we're not paying but then there's the camp issue if we go back (we're doing camp there also )and have prepaid that as well. So much money down the drain.

Here is the problem. You signed a contract that said you were accepting for the full year and you were committed to paying for the full year. There was no clause in there that said that tuition was guaranteed that the facility would remain open. There are any number of events that can close a facility down. There are any number of very contagious or dangerous infections or illnesses that if one child or one staff member brought it into the school, the school would have to be closed. There could be an accident like a truck running into the building that would close the school. In this day and age, it isn't that unlikely that a school could have a shooting. And on and on. There are any number of things that can close your school down and there is no clause in the contract that they will suspend or refund any part of the tuition for a school closure. In this case, the school closure is completely beyond their control. They can't repair damage and reopen the school.

So, regardless of whether or not it would be nice for them to refund you the money, they are under no legal obligation to refund tuition. On the contrary, one of the reasons that people like us pay tuition to schools is that we trust them to secure good staff and to maintain good programs. Part of hiring and maintaining good staff is to treat them right and that means paying the teachers. If they don't guarantee pay, then the good teachers will bail, which will devalue the care and education that children get there, which will in turn lower the desirability of the school.

Sorry that this happened, but unexpected school closings is one of the things that you need to consider before you sign the contract that says you are committed to the full year with no exit clause.

The contract is for me to pay tuition in exchange for them providing preschool. They are not providing preschool so they are not holding up thier end of the bargain. Our preschool contract does not say anything about pandemics; it just says that it follows OPM for inclement weather. And the federal government is not shut down so they should be open anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This just rubs me the wrong way so much. We're at a community nursery school that sees itself as some kind of local treasure (it's been around for a long time; low turnover; hard to get it in). It is not cheap and it's in a UMC area. How can they ask for full payment when there's no service?? You contract for the academic year when you go here. I'm tempted to burn all bridges and say we're not paying but then there's the camp issue if we go back (we're doing camp there also )and have prepaid that as well. So much money down the drain.

Here is the problem. You signed a contract that said you were accepting for the full year and you were committed to paying for the full year. There was no clause in there that said that tuition was guaranteed that the facility would remain open. There are any number of events that can close a facility down. There are any number of very contagious or dangerous infections or illnesses that if one child or one staff member brought it into the school, the school would have to be closed. There could be an accident like a truck running into the building that would close the school. In this day and age, it isn't that unlikely that a school could have a shooting. And on and on. There are any number of things that can close your school down and there is no clause in the contract that they will suspend or refund any part of the tuition for a school closure. In this case, the school closure is completely beyond their control. They can't repair damage and reopen the school.

So, regardless of whether or not it would be nice for them to refund you the money, they are under no legal obligation to refund tuition. On the contrary, one of the reasons that people like us pay tuition to schools is that we trust them to secure good staff and to maintain good programs. Part of hiring and maintaining good staff is to treat them right and that means paying the teachers. If they don't guarantee pay, then the good teachers will bail, which will devalue the care and education that children get there, which will in turn lower the desirability of the school.

Sorry that this happened, but unexpected school closings is one of the things that you need to consider before you sign the contract that says you are committed to the full year with no exit clause.

The contract is for me to pay tuition in exchange for them providing preschool. They are not providing preschool so they are not holding up thier end of the bargain. Our preschool contract does not say anything about pandemics; it just says that it follows OPM for inclement weather. And the federal government is not shut down so they should be open anyway.

How would you feel if they were to open and your child were to contract COVID 19 there?

[Anonymous]

What about people like me who have been furloughed and are not making any money? I can’t pay preschool teachers to sit home and not provide care bc I am not making anything myself! Believe it or not, there are white collar workers in the DMV who live paycheck to paycheck and are now without employment or income.

[Anonymous]

School should be able to use the money from the 2.2T bailout bill just passed. they are small business and can get a forgivable loan if they use money for wages during the shutdown.

No need to directly subsidize them, otherwise you will be doing it twice, second time via taxes that will probably go up in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School should be able to use the money from the 2.2T bailout bill just passed. they are small business and can get a forgivable loan if they use money for wages during the shutdown.

No need to directly subsidize them, otherwise you will be doing it twice, second time via taxes that will probably go up in the future.

Are 501c3 organizations and churches eligible for these loans?

[Anonymous]

To OP and at least one PP: I think we're also at this same preschool. Initially I felt OK about the April tuition email, though was put off by no mention of the what happens after April. And then the next email about DCPS lottery came and I thought, come on! Especially because this school demands a very significant deposit to save a spot for the next year, which at least 90% of parents in our class paid because of the uncertainty that comes with the DCPS lottery. So, one can assume that the school has at least some surplus budget if you extrapolate out the deposits.

And while I appreciate the zoom meetings, my kid too is over it. Since both me and my spouse are working with two kids at home it's pretty impossible even with preschool zoom to manage. Anyway, I think the schools need to stay closed for as long as they need to stay closed. And, even though their email was terrible I will pay April, but not beyond, because by then I will have to find someone to help me with the kids at home so I don't lose my job and I while we are comfortable we can't afford preschool plus nanny.

We aren't coming back next year and will be forfeiting that very substantial deposit and when I email them to let them know I will suggest that they use those reserves to make payroll for at least a month or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School should be able to use the money from the 2.2T bailout bill just passed. they are small business and can get a forgivable loan if they use money for wages during the shutdown.

No need to directly subsidize them, otherwise you will be doing it twice, second time via taxes that will probably go up in the future.

Are 501c3 organizations and churches eligible for these loans?

Yes! Nonprofits and small businesses alike can receive not just loans but grants (which don’t need to be repaid) from all levels - federal, state and local. Since the issue is so widespread, there’s relief for everyone including daycares. It’s just sad that these daycares choose not to show compassion to us parents by pretending like it’s business as usual or instilling fear (ie no tuition no spot for next year). The future is already uncertain enough for most people!! And us parents need to STOP pretending like we actually care about the teacher. Because all you do is pay tuition, you have no idea what the teachers get paid. Unless you’ve actually asked, you have no right to claim this. Like all things, the people at the top (owners/directors) make the most and the teacher’s get little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This just rubs me the wrong way so much. We're at a community nursery school that sees itself as some kind of local treasure (it's been around for a long time; low turnover; hard to get it in). It is not cheap and it's in a UMC area. How can they ask for full payment when there's no service?? You contract for the academic year when you go here. I'm tempted to burn all bridges and say we're not paying but then there's the camp issue if we go back (we're doing camp there also )and have prepaid that as well. So much money down the drain.

Here is the problem. You signed a contract that said you were accepting for the full year and you were committed to paying for the full year. There was no clause in there that said that tuition was guaranteed that the facility would remain open. There are any number of events that can close a facility down. There are any number of very contagious or dangerous infections or illnesses that if one child or one staff member brought it into the school, the school would have to be closed. There could be an accident like a truck running into the building that would close the school. In this day and age, it isn't that unlikely that a school could have a shooting. And on and on. There are any number of things that can close your school down and there is no clause in the contract that they will suspend or refund any part of the tuition for a school closure. In this case, the school closure is completely beyond their control. They can't repair damage and reopen the school.

So, regardless of whether or not it would be nice for them to refund you the money, they are under no legal obligation to refund tuition. On the contrary, one of the reasons that people like us pay tuition to schools is that we trust them to secure good staff and to maintain good programs. Part of hiring and maintaining good staff is to treat them right and that means paying the teachers. If they don't guarantee pay, then the good teachers will bail, which will devalue the care and education that children get there, which will in turn lower the desirability of the school.

Sorry that this happened, but unexpected school closings is one of the things that you need to consider before you sign the contract that says you are committed to the full year with no exit clause.

The contract is for me to pay tuition in exchange for them providing preschool. They are not providing preschool so they are not holding up thier end of the bargain. Our preschool contract does not say anything about pandemics; it just says that it follows OPM for inclement weather. And the federal government is not shut down so they should be open anyway.

Yes, but the contract also says essentially that you have committed to paying for the year. It does not say that in the event of school closure that you will be relieved of the obligation to pay tuition. It says that you agree to pay tuition for the school year. Unless there is a specific clause that says that in the event that school is closed you will not be required to pay, then you are on the hook for the duration of the contract. My kids have been in schools for 8 years and I've seen a number of those contracts and also seen a number of situations where parents keep trying to argue they are owed money back. The schools that guarantee teacher pay in the event of school closure never give money back to the parents. I work at at government facility that was closed during the furlough last year. The daycare was closed for an entire month and people tried to use the same arguments you are using and the school did not give refunds. I have a friend whose children were in a school where the nearby water supply was tested and found tainted (Legionnaires). The school was shut down for 2 weeks and the entire facility was cleaned, the plumbing had to be completely flushed. And they had to have two tests 1 week apart that were both negative for any infectious agents. So the school was shut down for 2 weeks. The teachers were paid, no refunds were given. I read in the news last year about a small private school where a drunk driver ran into the building (fortunately when the school was not open) and the school closed. I had a friend who lived in that part of the country and I asked and she had friends whose children were there and she inquired and was told that no one was given a refund (the parent that was asked said that no one asked and no one got a refund, but it was third hand, so I can't say if it was true or not).

The point is when a school closes, if they guarantee salaries for the teachers, very few of them give refunds of tuition. You can ask, but don't be surprised when you don't get one. You may think you have a case, but it isn't very standard practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about people like me who have been furloughed and are not making any money? I can’t pay preschool teachers to sit home and not provide care bc I am not making anything myself! Believe it or not, there are white collar workers in the DMV who live paycheck to paycheck and are now without employment or income.

This is what is annoying me with all the preaching about our moral obligation to continue paying tuition. I’m pretty sure there are a bunch of daycare directors on here sock puppeting.

Childcare is a huge expense for our family, essentially a second mortgage. It’s a stretch to pay it, but we like our school and calculated that long term it makes sense for two parents to remain in the workforce even if we don’t come out that far “ahead” with me working. But now we’re facing loss of income due to lack of childcare. Our daycare sent out an email saying we have to keep paying full price to keep our spot, which really frustrates me. I’m going to lose income because I cannot work full time, but the school isn’t taking a hit on this at all? There should be some reduction in tuition because they’re no longer paying for food, utilities, materials, etc. I’d be more willing to continue paying a partial fee if I felt like they had tried to negotiate lower rent or the owner was willing to take some profit loss this year. But it seems like the families that attend are expected to foot the entire bill for this pandemic even though we’re going through our own financial loss. It doesn’t feel like a joint effort and like I’m viewed as a bottomless bank account instead of a parent who has been turning over 80% of my income their center for years and is now unable to work because of lack of childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about people like me who have been furloughed and are not making any money? I can’t pay preschool teachers to sit home and not provide care bc I am not making anything myself! Believe it or not, there are white collar workers in the DMV who live paycheck to paycheck and are now without employment or income.

This is what is annoying me with all the preaching about our moral obligation to continue paying tuition. I’m pretty sure there are a bunch of daycare directors on here sock puppeting.

Childcare is a huge expense for our family, essentially a second mortgage. It’s a stretch to pay it, but we like our school and calculated that long term it makes sense for two parents to remain in the workforce even if we don’t come out that far “ahead” with me working. But now we’re facing loss of income due to lack of childcare. Our daycare sent out an email saying we have to keep paying full price to keep our spot, which really frustrates me. I’m going to lose income because I cannot work full time, but the school isn’t taking a hit on this at all? There should be some reduction in tuition because they’re no longer paying for food, utilities, materials, etc. I’d be more willing to continue paying a partial fee if I felt like they had tried to negotiate lower rent or the owner was willing to take some profit loss this year. But it seems like the families that attend are expected to foot the entire bill for this pandemic even though we’re going through our own financial loss. It doesn’t feel like a joint effort and like I’m viewed as a bottomless bank account instead of a parent who has been turning over 80% of my income their center for years and is now unable to work because of lack of childcare.

Have you tried reaching out to them and explaining the situation and what you are able to pay with your reduced hours to hold your spot? Many centers may be willing to work with parents who have documented job or hours loss.