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

[Anonymous]

The director of our daycare sent the following message. She’s clearly in a difficult spot. I don’t think business interruption would pay anything if they’re not forced to close, and the expenses continue even if kids aren’t going to the center.

—

Dear Parents,
As for now, [center] has decided to remain open next week.

We were waiting for OSSE to take a decision in regards to this critical matter. I was very disappointing to hear from them (this afternoon, after several phone calls requesting guidance) that they were expecting for us to take the decision independently.

If, due to any other unexpected reason, we are forced to shut down (a shutdown of the city or nationwide for example), we'll be immediately communicating that decision through Tadpoles in an email format and also through the emergency texting that Tadpoles allows.

At this point, we'll defer to parents in regards to their decision whether to bring children to the center or keep them home during next week. It's critical that you inform us of this decision so we can have clear estimation on number of students and the necessary staff.

Some of you have reached out to us with concerns about the ability of our teachers to continue earning a salary if they have to stay home with their children in light of the school closures announced for this area. We appreciate those concerns, and we wanted to let you know that we are planning to work with each teacher to assess their individual situation and do our best to help them resolve it, whether it is through reimbursement of child care expenses, reimbursement of ride-share expenses should public transportation cease to function, or any other means at our disposal. We are committed to the welfare of our teachers as well as that of your children, and we will do everything in our power to continue providing the services that you rely on, as long as it’s safe to do so and we are not instructed otherwise by the DC authorities.

Should we be forced to close for an extended period of time, the situation would become more complex. We are a small family-owned business that relies exclusively on our monthly tuition income to cover all recurring expenses such as payroll, benefits, rent, payments on our construction loans, etc. We don’t receive any public funding towards our operating expenses. Absent some form of relief on the part of the DC or Federal governments, we would be unable to cover those expenses if our tuition income were to be interrupted. While we are very much aware of the inherent issues with charging tuition in the event we can’t provide the service for which the tuition is being paid, at this point we don’t have a solution that would keep our centers afloat and our staff earning a steady income should we have to interrupt our operations and stop charging tuition. Given these circumstances, we would of course waive the two-month advance notice requirement should any of you decide to disenroll your children from the program, but hope you would choose not to do so.

We know we are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the only business affected by the current situation, and both the Federal and DC governments are looking into ways of helping businesses of all sizes overcome the existential challenges brought on by it.

We also want you to know that financial considerations will never outweigh our concern for safety of your children and their families as well as for our staff, and we will not stay open if we believe that we are putting anyone at risk by doing so.

We will keep you informed of any new developments and continue practicing often and effective cleaning and sanitizing measures. Please reach out to us with any questions!

Thanks for your patience while we were trying to take the best decision possible during these unprecedented circumstances,
[director].

[Anonymous]

Ours said that they expect us to continue on time payments for the first 30 days of closure.

[Anonymous]

I’d pay for a month of no service. But when we start talking long term no way. I’ll pull my kid if I have to.

[Anonymous]

Our JCC has closed, both daycare and all other facilities like pools and gym. They said they will not refund anything paid for March, but they will not charge April membership or tuition payments or for subsequent months as long as closure continues.

[Anonymous]

As long as my company is ok paying me the same for reduced hours and reduced efficiency due to having small children home with me I am ok paying daycare even though they are closed. But if I get a salary cut something needs to give.

[Anonymous]

Of course you pay. Or you lose your slot. I’m generating zero income while our office is closed and still understand why they expect this. Flip it around to if you were the daycare/owner.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone can afford to pay for services that they can’t use, and certainly not indefinitely.

If my daycare shuts down and my income is affected (because now I can’t work), then no I won’t be paying.

[Anonymous]

I pay for daycare and just lost my job due to the virus so it is hard for me to pay for daycare when I'm no out of work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d pay for a month of no service. But when we start talking long term no way. I’ll pull my kid if I have to.

Same. Ours is currently closed for two weeks and we are paid up through the end of March. We would pay through April, but if the decision is to close through the end of the school year and the daycares follow suit, we’d pull them out. My older DC is heading to kindergarten next year so I’d have to imagine most of the parents in his class would follow suit. Other DC is over 2 so I know we could find them a spot elsewhere. If they were still an infant that would be a harder decision. But nope, I can’t afford to pay for months of closure since I will only be able to work part time.

[Anonymous]

My grand daughters day care has a handbook that states they will charge if closed less then a week, they closed for this full week and maybe next, they are now saying they wont reimburse this week and would like everyone to continue to poay. My daughter is a server and lost her job and has to collect minimal unemployment, why are daycare workers expected to get paid for work they are not doing? Why aren't they collecting unemployement?

[Anonymous]

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.

+1 my stance exactly and if I lose my spot oh well

[Anonymous]

We can pay one extra month than will have to break our contract. IF that’s even possible. I’ve lost my income until everything blows over and people are seeking out spa services again. In the meantime I need to pay all of our regular bills and plus business expenses required to keep me legal to start up again. Thank goodness I’m on commission and not renting my space.

[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.

+1 my stance exactly and if I lose my spot oh well

This is so out of touch. Day care centers run on very thin margins.

[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.

+1 my stance exactly and if I lose my spot oh well

This is so out of touch. Day care centers run on very thin margins.

Much of it goes to operating costs, food, rental, bathroom and cleaning supplies, INSURANCE, staff, utilities. No one is getting a fat bank account running a daycare, especially the smaller or church ones.

Cost of business is easy to cry when you are the one trying to save a dime. Perhaps you should consider your community instead of going into survival me and mine mode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1 my stance exactly and if I lose my spot oh well

This is so out of touch. Day care centers run on very thin margins.

Much of it goes to operating costs, food, rental, bathroom and cleaning supplies, INSURANCE, staff, utilities. No one is getting a fat bank account running a daycare, especially the smaller or church ones.

Cost of business is easy to cry when you are the one trying to save a dime. Perhaps you should consider your community instead of going into survival me and mine mode.

Response was to previous “oh well” person, not direct poster.