Thursday, March 28, 2024

Parents in a tough spot after Vic West daycare announces closure

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A tough situation for many parents in the Greater Victoria area is about to get a lot tougher, after a major daycare facility in Vic West announced it will close by the end of the month.

Babies to Big Kids Childcare announced in an email to parents on Monday that it would be closing its doors on June 29.

“Though we realize that more notice would have been preferable for our committed families and staff members, due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue to provide care beyond June 29th 2018,” Babies to Big Kids Childcare finance manager Kelly Lamanes wrote.

The daycare is located in a church owned by the Salvation Army in the Vic West area, and provides care for 70 kids ages six months to 12 years.

Lamanes told parents that the Salvation Army now wants full access to the building.

Big Kids staff did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication, but a CTV report quoting owner Amber Lamanes says they had to close because the Salvation Army wouldn’t renew their lease.

The Salvation Army told CTV they had given the daycare nine months’ notice back in April because it couldn’t afford renting the building out at the current price.

But Amber Lamanes said she couldn’t keep the business running until January, and that it would be too costly for them to relocate.

Regardless of what went on behind the scenes, parents are now in the position of finding daycare spots in an already crowded market.

One parent going only by David told Victoria Buzz that he had been on the waitlist for a spot at Big Kids since February, and now has to find an alternative for his daughter that works with his full-time job.

David forwarded an email thread involving him and Big Kids staff in which they don’t offer any suggestions for alternative daycare spaces.

He wants to know why parents are just hearing about the closure now.

“It seems like this daycare has known this was coming for a while now, but they were still telling people it was business as usual for fall,” he said.

Victoria Buzz will update this story when we hear back from Babies to Big Kids Childcare.

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Myles Sauer
Former staff editor and writer at Victoria Buzz.

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