Multiple Hollister families are left to scramble over child care options after learning Little Baler Preschool, a tenant of Sunnyslope Christian Center, will be closed at the end of May. In a letter to parents, the school’s owner discussed a lease meeting with Sunnyslope Christian Center. “I was told that the board and Mr. Townsend have decided to end my lease. The meeting was very short and no options or explanations were given to me except that they now need the space for better use. Unfortunately, I was not given ample time to find a new building that would be adequate for our preschool and consistent with the regulations for licensing,” said Rene Rhodes. Kevin Townsend, senior pastor, said they were required to give a 90 days notice, but chose to give 13 months instead. “We wanted to give them at least 13 months to at least be able to figure something out and hopefully find another place they can rent,” Townsend said. Rhodes said that is still not enough time. She said it would take about 18 months to two years to get licensed again, not to mention the drastic difficulties in finding another building in Hollister. This all leaves parents at the school clueless about where to turn for child care.“There’s not a lot of preschools here in town. We have a lot of day cares, but a lot of them are full,” said mom Mikayla Sanchez. “I talked to some moms, and they’re like, ‘I’m going to have to quit my job. I have no other option,’” said mom Veronica Becker. For many parents, Little Baler was a school they could trust to watch over their kids and provide quality learning. “My kids are pretty heartsick about it,” said mom Stephanie Mew. “Even my 5-year-old, who’s no longer there, is just pretty heartsick that this isn’t going to be a safe place for them to go anymore, that it’s going to just not be in existence.”The preschool is also an affordable option for families and provides care all day for working parents. “They open at 6:30, which is one of the earliest times here in Hollister, especially for commuters, and they close at 6:30,” Sanchez said. Sunnyslope Christian Center said this was not an easy decision. It came down to not having enough space with their rapid growth. “Our church has grown five to 10 times, so now we run about 500 a week compared to 50. We’re out of room,” Townsend said. “Our children’s ministries have quadrupled, so where we would have had five to ten kids, we have anywhere from 80 to 100 kids that show up.”Parents said they hope the school can be given more time. They are asking the church to extend the lease and the community to come together to find somewhere for these kids to go after May.
Multiple Hollister families are left to scramble over child care options after learning Little Baler Preschool, a tenant of Sunnyslope Christian Center, will be closed at the end of May.
In a letter to parents, the school’s owner discussed a lease meeting with Sunnyslope Christian Center.
“I was told that the board and Mr. Townsend have decided to end my lease. The meeting was very short and no options or explanations were given to me except that they now need the space for better use. Unfortunately, I was not given ample time to find a new building that would be adequate for our preschool and consistent with the regulations for licensing,” said Rene Rhodes.
Kevin Townsend, senior pastor, said they were required to give a 90 days notice, but chose to give 13 months instead.
“We wanted to give them at least 13 months to at least be able to figure something out and hopefully find another place they can rent,” Townsend said.
Rhodes said that is still not enough time. She said it would take about 18 months to two years to get licensed again, not to mention the drastic difficulties in finding another building in Hollister.
This all leaves parents at the school clueless about where to turn for child care.
“There’s not a lot of preschools here in town. We have a lot of day cares, but a lot of them are full,” said mom Mikayla Sanchez.
“I talked to some moms, and they’re like, ‘I’m going to have to quit my job. I have no other option,’” said mom Veronica Becker.
For many parents, Little Baler was a school they could trust to watch over their kids and provide quality learning.
“My kids are pretty heartsick about it,” said mom Stephanie Mew. “Even my 5-year-old, who’s no longer there, is just pretty heartsick that this isn’t going to be a safe place for them to go anymore, that it’s going to just not be in existence.”
The preschool is also an affordable option for families and provides care all day for working parents.
“They open at 6:30, which is one of the earliest times here in Hollister, especially for commuters, and they close at 6:30,” Sanchez said.
Sunnyslope Christian Center said this was not an easy decision. It came down to not having enough space with their rapid growth.
“Our church has grown five to 10 times, so now we run about 500 a week compared to 50. We’re out of room,” Townsend said. “Our children’s ministries have quadrupled, so where we would have had five to ten kids, we have anywhere from 80 to 100 kids that show up.”
Parents said they hope the school can be given more time. They are asking the church to extend the lease and the community to come together to find somewhere for these kids to go after May.