If your daycare or childcare provider closed due to coronavirus, are they still requiring you to pay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be jerks people. Those running a daycare around here aren't making tons of money. If you can pay, then pay.

The problem is that many of us CANNOT afford to pay if we aren't also earning a paycheck.

I cannot work if my kid can't be in daycare.

This is what I’m working about. We pay our preschool a monthly tuition in advance. I am about to make April’s payment. So I know I’m paying through April 30th. It’s already budgeted for so that gets us 7 weeks out from now. If they ask for May’s payment 4 weeks from now though and there is no sign of re-opening, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m worried I’m going to have to take unpaid leave or be forced to work from home in which case I’ll need to hire at least some part time care. But part time care + our expensive preschool tuition will eat up my whole paycheck. We come out about $1600/month “ahead” (plus retirement and health benefits) with me working. That doesn’t leave a ton leftover to hire someone to come help watch the kids while we work from home + pay our preschool. If I’m going to literally spend all my money so I can keep working, then I’d be better off taking LWOP and not dealing with the stress of work + kids at home.

[Anonymous]

Worried about, not working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, sorry. This is a cost of doing business for the daycare, not me. It will just have to come out of their profit for the year. They are obviously in business to make a profit. Some years you make a profit and some years you don't so this will just have to be one of those years. Their crisis plan should not be to rely on the goodwill of their customers who aren't currently receiving services.

I agree, but also believe they have no obligation to keep your spot. In many cases, the parties meeting in the middle seems to make sense.

I see what you’re saying, but I don’t see people jumping at the chance to snag a spot at a center that is closed. How would that phone call down the waitlist go? “Hi, we’re not operating for the foreseeable future, but we have an opening. Put a deposit down and it’s yours.” Yes, some of the highly sought after centers might do that, but a lot of people are going to be out of work and probably not shopping around for a non-operating childcare center right now.

[Anonymous]

^^ This was in response to the comment about centers not holding spots. If they suddenly let all the non-payers go, then they’re going to have a bunch of openings at once and maybe not a huge pool of people ready to put down money.

[Anonymous]

Our part time preschool sent out in an email that we would not be expected to pay in the event of closure. I was surprised to be honest bc a closure doesn't change the fact that there's rent, electric bills and other overhead plus none of the teachers would be paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, sorry. This is a cost of doing business for the daycare, not me. It will just have to come out of their profit for the year. They are obviously in business to make a profit. Some years you make a profit and some years you don't so this will just have to be one of those years. Their crisis plan should not be to rely on the goodwill of their customers who aren't currently receiving services.

I agree, but also believe they have no obligation to keep your spot. In many cases, the parties meeting in the middle seems to make sense.

I see what you’re saying, but I don’t see people jumping at the chance to snag a spot at a center that is closed. How would that phone call down the waitlist go? “Hi, we’re not operating for the foreseeable future, but we have an opening. Put a deposit down and it’s yours.” Yes, some of the highly sought after centers might do that, but a lot of people are going to be out of work and probably not shopping around for a non-operating childcare center right now.

Maybe. But it’s not uncommon to have to pay for a couple of months you won’t use (baby not old enough, still on leave, haven’t moved yet) to secure a spot that won’t be there when you want it if you pass. In some ways, this isn’t that different.

Plus, even if they can’t fill the spot while you are gone, they may not offer it to you when the reopen. Some probably would, but others would might not, to prove a point or otherwise. I could see them wanting to avoid resentment from families that paid the whole time towards those that didn’t but then still had a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our part time preschool sent out in an email that we would not be expected to pay in the event of closure. I was surprised to be honest bc a closure doesn't change the fact that there's rent, electric bills and other overhead plus none of the teachers would be paid.

Bar-t, our elementary after care, said they would offer a 50% credit for the next two weeks and were suspending billing for April. It wasn’t clear if an April bill would come if closed.

I feel that is a reasonable approach, particularly since they said they are still paying their employees fully.

[Anonymous]

Of course you have to pay! Silly question!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question applies to people already in this situation. I know most contracts/terms/agreements don't address this kind of situation, so wondering whether anyone that's currently dealing with this can shed some light on their situation.

I think my provider, a large daycare center, may close next week. No word on whether we'd be expected to pay tuition if the center is closed for weeks on end. I understand fully the need for the teachers to be able to support themselves; at the same time, if the center is closed for a prolonged period, we'd be paying for services that aren't being rendered. It's a tough situation all around.

To pay a couple of weeks I am fine. but not for more than 4 weeks closure. Simply not realistic.
If my office closes for some emergency, my employer will certainly NOT be paying me. They will force me to use all the remaning pto and then forced unpaid leave. so why daycare staff would be able to get paid when facility closes?

This is a great point. I just started my a new job in January and I don't have leaves like that. If I cannot telecommute, then I would need to take leave without pay. I simply cannot afford not to get paid in order to pay close to $4000 of daycare costs for 2 kids. I am NOT saying that daycare teachers do not deserve to get paid, but if I don't have leaves, I am forced to use leave without pay, and they should as well. Use their leaves or get leave without pay. It just sucks all around.

To someone's point about not planning for emergency, we have emergency fund. But this is different. A lot of us are barely making ends meet due to high daycare costs. We can't afford to pay daycare, if we don't get paid ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question applies to people already in this situation. I know most contracts/terms/agreements don't address this kind of situation, so wondering whether anyone that's currently dealing with this can shed some light on their situation.

I think my provider, a large daycare center, may close next week. No word on whether we'd be expected to pay tuition if the center is closed for weeks on end. I understand fully the need for the teachers to be able to support themselves; at the same time, if the center is closed for a prolonged period, we'd be paying for services that aren't being rendered. It's a tough situation all around.

To pay a couple of weeks I am fine. but not for more than 4 weeks closure. Simply not realistic.
If my office closes for some emergency, my employer will certainly NOT be paying me. They will force me to use all the remaning pto and then forced unpaid leave. so why daycare staff would be able to get paid when facility closes?

This is a great point. I just started my a new job in January and I don't have leaves like that. If I cannot telecommute, then I would need to take leave without pay. I simply cannot afford not to get paid in order to pay close to $4000 of daycare costs for 2 kids. I am NOT saying that daycare teachers do not deserve to get paid, but if I don't have leaves, I am forced to use leave without pay, and they should as well. Use their leaves or get leave without pay. It just sucks all around.

To someone's point about not planning for emergency, we have emergency fund. But this is different. A lot of us are barely making ends meet due to high daycare costs. We can't afford to pay daycare, if we don't get paid ourselves.

I think ideally there would be some middle ground- maybe reduced tuition for the time they are closed. Because otherwise it’s really forcing a lot of the cost burden of this crisis on parents who won’t be getting paid.

[Anonymous]

For the next two weeks we are expected to pay our preschool in full, even though they are closed. We signed a one year contract that ends in mid-June. I don’t see how we would get out of paying the full rate even if the preschool is closed until then.

My specific contract outlines a flat rate for the year and families can choose to pay the fee in annual, bi-annual or monthly payments. There has never been discounts for snow days or other closures, I doubt we would get a discount now.

[Anonymous]

I have heard that some preschools are telling people they will not have to pay in the event of an extended closure or are asking parents to pay a reduced rate. If the school does well and has a lot of reserves I think this is the right thing to do. With older kids in private schools it’s different because there is cyber learning but clearly that isn’t happening for preschool.

[Anonymous]

Our center has told us that we will not be required to pay if they close, but that we will still have to pay if we keep our kids at home and they remain open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course, how is this a question? They'll lose their workers if they can't pay them and they can't pay them without our tuition.

If there isn't a clear contract about annual tuition, you are not obliged to pay. They should have insurance. BUT they can release the spots of people who don't want to pay, of course.

[Anonymous]

Our daycare is closing for two weeks, and we are expected to pay tuition. However, they have stated that they will consider reduced or no payments for families with financial burdens due to reduced or loss of income related covid19 closures on a case by case basis.