TAVARES, Fla. — A Tavares daycare and preschool facility told parents this week it will be shutting its doors permanently in just a few days, leaving them racing to find childcare to kick off the new year.
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The Waterman Early Learning Academy, located on the AdventHealth Waterman campus, sent its families a letter explaining the facility was facing a rent hike from $1,500 per month to $14,000 per month.
The letter explained that the daycare had operated with reduced rent ever since AdventHealth sold the business. The owner said he had been trying to turn the financially distressed program around and find a more suitable building with bigger rooms to expand enrollment, but plans fell through.
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He told parents to not blame the hospital since the higher rent was market-rate and AdventHealth had the right to run their business responsibly.
However, the sudden closure caused panic among families, many of whom included employees of the hospital and relied on the daycare to watch their children while they worked.
“My mind was just kind of reeling,” Kerry Oquendo, who is not an employee of the hospital, said. “It’s really hard to give your child to a stranger, and it took me, like, a good two months to not worry about her.”
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Oquendo and her husband, Joel, both work from home and consider themselves fortunate they have some flexibility. However, there are times in the day when both get tied up in meetings. They’re looking to hire a part-time nanny to cover the gaps.
They and other parents who contacted WFTV said they started searching for a new daycare, but it’s a tall order, especially in Lake County.
Most facilities have months-long waiting lists. The Oquendos signed their daughter, Emma, up for Waterman when Kerry was five months pregnant.
One facility, they said, required a $500 deposit to get a spot on the waiting list.
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“Most people don’t work from home here, and so most people don’t have the flexibility,” Joel said. “There’s just no other way around it. We’re nervous for the baby that she has to now deal with new teachers and a new facility. We’re nervous about our jobs. Are they going to be as nice to us as we think that they could be?”
In response to questions about the welfare of its employees, AdventHealth sent a statement that said:
“We fully empathize with the concerns raised by families. For nearly two years, we have actively worked with the facility’s operations team and provided below-market rent while they explored alternate location sites.”
The owner of the daycare did not respond to WFTV’s efforts to contact him.
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In Facebook groups, families shared their concerns and daycare owners responded with available spots at their facilities.
However, many of the slots were for older children, not six-month-old Emma.
“I feel like our minds are all just kind of reeling right now,” Kerry said. “I didn’t realize childcare was such an issue.”
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