For those whose daycare or private preschool it's closed, are you being asked to still pay tuition or part of tuition? DD's daycare stayed open this week (though we kept her home), but we got an email saying the public health department is making them close starting next week. It's an independent, family-owned center, so I'm worried about them being able to survive long term closure. Plus they have staff who have been with them a long time. They haven't said anything yet about continuing to pay or not. Are you still paying tuition?
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Our preschool through our church is closed. They offered to refund tuition, but also asked if families would consider continuing to pay it as a donation to the preschool. They’re committed to paying their staff as best they can through this, but that would help them from dipping into reserves. We are going to continue paying tuition through the rest of the year.
We don’t have to find alternate care for our kids though, and having my daughter home more hasn’t messed with my work schedule or upended stuff for us in that way. I was talking to a friend who has had to find (and fund) alternate care for her kids, and I think all of this is so much harder in that boat.
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My kids go to a private school with a daycare attached. Daycare has closed and we aren’t paying (they aren’t billing us) I’m curious what will happen about pre-K and school tuition - nothing has been said. I’m sort of thinking they’ll waive the pre-K and we will pay the k tuition since those kids are doing “virtual” learning and we’re getting credit for school daya
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Our province has said that parents do not have to pay for daycare closures. The province will be providing relief but I am not sure if it will be enough.
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My DD’s daycare has said that parents won’t have to pay while they are closed, and any fees already paid for this month will be applied as a credit to future fees. We already gave notice to withdraw her at the end of April anyway, though, so not sure what that will look like for us.
She also just started at a Co-Op Nursery School in January. They have post dated cheques from all parents for fees until June. March cheques have already been cashed, but not sure how they will proceed. It’s tough, because although it would be nice/helpful not to have to pay while
things are closed, I also understand that the livelihood of others may depend on those fees. -
We send our youngest to an in-home daycare. She has stayed open this week, but we are not sure what her or our plans are beyond that. Whether we elect not to send DD, or if she elects to close, we will continue to pay her our normal rate. I feel like in our situation it's just one small thing I can do to support someone who is so important to our family.
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So far, ours is only closed for 3 weeks....obviously it will probably be closed longer. They sent out an email that tuition will be 50% the first week, nothing the 2nd, and 50% the third week. They at first mentioned that they would be able to keep the teachers busy in the classrooms so that they will be paid. Then they sent another email that they want the teachers to be home with their families for 2 weeks so that everyone remains healthy. I don't know what that means as far as them getting paid. I hope so.
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@lindseykaye: This. We also go to an in-home daycare. My daughter has been home this week, but all schools are shutting down as of today. As tempting as it is to not pay, I am still being paid as a teacher. I am.available to work...I just have no students, so I feel like she should be paid, too. When I told her that, she said it makes it possible for her to stay afloat and be able to accommodate those who cannot pay during this closure. So, I think it's the right thing to do for us.
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I don't know. Still haven't heard anything from ours regarding tuition. This is the first week of closure, but they have announced they will be closed through April 15 at least.
I want the teachers to get paid, but it's a lot of money ($2k a month for 2 kids) for them to be home with us. And on top of that, we are probably going to have to try to find a babysitter at least like 2 days a week.
This week has been a total disaster with my husband and I trying to work from home with the kids here. It's just not long term sustainable. He's trying to record college lectures and I need to write legal briefs and call courts and clients. Neither of which we can do with kids screaming in the background.
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We attend 2 preschools. 1 is doing online learning so they aren’t refunding anything.
The other hasn’t said anything but when a parent specifically asked if the school was still paying the teachers the owner did say she’s worried about the school not coming out the other end. We are planning to continue to pay, but my son only attends 2 days so it’s not a huge amount.
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@lindseykaye: @crazydoglady: like you guys we use a small in home lady for our DS and she's still open so he's going. If she gets shut down we would try to still pay her bc it's her livelihood and I dont' know how she'd survive if we didn't pay her. For now DH and I are still being paid our normal salaries so it shouldn't be any different. Of course all of these things are fluid and could change but for now i'd say we'll pay.
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Since we are still getting paid, we will pay for April's tuition even if it's closed. May.... I hope if they are still closed for then, I hope then we won't "ahve" to pay. Our preschool follows the school calendar and thus we only have April and May left.
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Our daycare is closed for three weeks. We will be getting one week off of tuition for the next 3 months (April, May and June). I assume it will be the same if they are closed longer.
I have no idea what the aftercare is going to do for my oldest. There are rumors the school year could be done. I can’t imagine they would charge us for the rest of the year which would only be April and May.
ETA: we found out my husband is losing 1/3 of his pay for however long he is out of work (he does sales and we are shelter in place...) so I’m really hoping we get some kind of break.
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Ours is asking for 75% of monthly premiums so they can continue to pay staff. They did say if you weren’t able to do so to let the center know and they’d work out an arrangement. And they asked if people want to pay the full amount to let them know.
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@lindseykaye: We're in the exact same situation. A small in-home that's still open, but if it closes we will continue to pay.
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Our older son’s before/aftercare is run out of the school, so they closed as soon as the schools did, and said we wouldn’t be charged. Younger son attends a “franchise” (a big chain) - they closed Tuesday and also won’t be billing for the time they’re closed. If I could somehow pay the teachers directly I would, but since that’s not an option I’m putting the money into the local economy by buying gin from a local distillery.
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@Ajsmommy: Definitely. I'm thinking of it this way: I am paying for my daughter's spot. It's not like she wanted to close. My husband and I both have contracts, so getting paid during closures isn't a concern. But, if things change financially, we may need to reevaluate.
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Daycare in our state is shut down by executive order right now except for care for the children of crisis workers. We're in a center that is asking for full tuition, with hardship exceptions, so that they can continue to pay staff and rent. Based on conversations/Facebook mom's group, this seems to be standard for our area where demand for daycare is much greater than supply. Both DH and I are able to WFH and getting paid as normal, so I'm ok with continuing to pay because I want DD's teachers to continue to get paid as well. I'm fine with the fact that we're paying and others might not be because we can afford to pay right now, when others might not be able to. We're also both in industries that will likely weather the coming recession well, so we feel like our jobs are secure and worst case might wind up taking some furlough time if it gets really grim.
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We haven’t heard anything from ours yet, church-based preschool that is not full time, but they’re closed indefinitely like the schools. We pay by month so I guess we’ll hear before April, I think they’re waiting to see what the school district does also. We had prepaid and I want the teachers to get that income they were counting on, but I’m also a bit torn because I SAH and dh’s company just took a 15% pay cut (or higher) to all employees. We made initial cuts to match but I’m really wondering if he’ll keep his job so we may have to rethink all kid expenses. This is going to be so hard for so many if people have to pull back their usual spending.
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I guess I'll wait a week or so to see what the communication is from daycare about tuition. If I don't hear anything then, I'll ask directly. Right now DH and I are still getting paid, and I'd like to continue to pay part of the tuition, but honestly paying for daycare was already a stretch to our budget. Plus DH is an architect, and I'm really worried that he's going to be laid off because lots of people are postponing work. And with the economic/stock market recession that's here and going to get worse, his type of work is likely to dry up for awhile. It would be great to save money while we can.
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@Chuckles: don’t feel bad about not paying if you don’t have too. It’s a huge expense and many are struggling right now. It’s so awesome that some people want and are able to keeping paying but don’t feel bad if that’s not your situation. Like you our budget is maxed with daycare and honestly we could use the breathing room and save that money for the uncertainty coming up
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Ours is closed this week thru at least April 7. We don’t have to pay but I’m worried about the teachers and if they’re getting paid. I think my state is providing some sort of “Relief” to the centers since it’s a state mandate now to be closed. I’m going to put the money into savings since we’re still being paid. My husband prob won’t be working for much longer so it would be good to set aside. If he does keep working we can use that money to help those in more need than ourselves.
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@Chuckles: @gotkimchi: I appreciate you saying this, because everywhere I look people are saying to keep paying for services you aren’t receiving...and while I respect that, get it, and would love to do it, many of these things were budget stressors to begin with, and even with steady employment, the huge hit our retirement, kids college funds, etc. are taking may mean that we also need to rethink our spending habits. So I’m really not sure...
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This is a really sore subject for me. Our preschool closed starting March 16th. We are still paying tuition for April, May and June, we're on a FACTS tuition payment plan. It's over $1,000 a month. We have asked very nicely to stop paying in an email, and we have heard nothing from them. We're entering a hard ship and we just can't pay it. I love the teachers but...we just can't pay for care we're not receiving.
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Update: as I suspected we just got an email that April tuition for pre-K will not be withdrawn since they can’t offer the services as intended. Still haven’t heard about k tuition but do expect to pay that
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Our private preschool is reimbursing us (for those that paid in advance) or holding on accepting payment until they re-open. I definitely appreciate it, wasn't sure if they would do that.
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Our daycare closed on Tuesday and they let us know that they will not be withdrawing tuition payments while they are closed and will revisit it once they reopen. Teachers are being paid 100% in the meantime.
They did send an email today with a survey to see how many people would send their kids if they reopen one of their locations next week.
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Our daycare requires one year contracts, that start in September, and are not letting anyone out of them as of now. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't reopen until then or later. They say they must continue to pay their teachers while closed as it is wrong to leave them without income, which I understand, but at the same time for many families tuition is a huge share of their income. We live in a high COL area with the most expensive daycares in the country. I know some families who have to take out loans to afford daycare, and so I feel for families as well. Right now we still have our jobs and can afford it, and we have loved the daycare, so I'm okay with it. But I'm relieved that our younger child hadn't gotten a slot yet, so at least we are only out one tuition.
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@PinkElephant: Definitely don’t feel bad about this!! In my situation, because we use a small home care, I feel like I am directly paying her income. It’s different if you’re paying a company for a service and THEY are responsible for paying the income of their employees. It feels like a big difference there. I would be making the same decisions as all of you in the same situations.
So yes, I’m glad people chimed in from that side.️
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@PinkElephant: I know others have said this as well, but definitely don’t feel bad. We’re all in this together. Everyone is doing what they can right now, and for us that means paying daycare tuition. I’m sure there are people who go to our center who have been/are at risk of being laid off, and I hope my tuition makes it so that once everyone is working again all of our spots and the teachers our kids love are still there.
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@karenbme: Exactly!
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@gotkimchi: @PinkElephant: @lindseykaye: @karenbme: Yes, I wish we could easily keep paying, but it would be such a help if we don't have to for a month or so. We are continuing to pay our dog walker and cleaning person (at least for now) because they aren't super huge expenses and I know it will make such a difference to them.
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I am struggling with this issue. My twins are in preschool 5 mornings a week. We've been using this private preschool for years and have been told that we don't have to pay while closed but it would help them continue to pay teachers. I want to help but have a hard time paying for services I'm not receiving. My income is still coming in, but we also have rentals. I'm nervous that our renters won't pay or bail on leases early and leave us in a bind. It's only 2 more months so we will probably pay. This is our last year with the preschool and they have truly loved our kids well. Not everyone can afford to do this so I'm hoping that as communities we can pitch in and support each other.
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Arg, so glad to find this thread and vent a little! We go to a small in-home place with one teacher and about ten families (many part-time). We got a "reminder" from our provider that payment for April was due in full as usual because the contract states there are no changes in the event of "unforeseen" closures. I kind of get it, many of the expenses like rent stay the same and the provider wants to continue making her salary of course. I want to support her but my income is now cut in half because of not being able to work while I have no childcare. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it seems like the provider now gets a full six-week-long paid vacation while I'm trying to scramble to work and parent and pay her. When I requested whether she could adjust the rates slightly, she simply replied that all of her expenses would remain the same so she wouldn't reduce rates. I mean, it might not be much, but she doesn't have to buy food or supplies for a full month.
It just feels like we are playing a big game of musical chairs where everybody wants their usual payments even without providing services (and I get that they cannot provide them due to social distancing), but somebody is going to be left without a chair. And it feels like that person is me! -
Our 3.5 year old attends a private preschool 3 days a week. They have asked that we pay 35% of our tuition until they reopen.
Since I am a teacher and have income coming in, I can handle it. I love his preschool and don’t want them to close because of financial issues. So I will pay the 35%....
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@Chuckles: 100% full tuition. I mean I get it but ... it sucks.
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@Orange Lily: My DH feels exactly the same. There is no good solution. Of course we want the teachers to be paid. Of course we want our school to remain open. But we are basically donating $1k at this point. Our school hasn't discounted the rate for April even though we aren't going back this month, and I wish they would have. Something about that idea just helps it feel like we're all trying to work together toward common ground rather than being like "nope! Full rate no matter what!" I don't know. I feel like a jerk for thinking this.
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Sorry to hear from everyone who is expected to pay full tuition. I get it, from a provider perspective, but it still stinks. Update from us: Our daycare provider is not accepting payments right now. We asked if we could pay some of the tuition, but she sent a mass email to all parents saying that they felt it wasn't fair to have some parents pay and others not. They are encouraging their staff to file for unemployment. It seems silly to me to not accept payments from parents who are able to continue paying, but I appreciate the thought behind it. Based on how I get paid as a teacher, my paychecks are significantly smaller now through the summer because of my maternity leave, so I am thankful that we won't be blowing through savings as fast as we would have with daycare payments.
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@Chuckles: It's nice when they make the decision for you. I am a teacher, too, so I totally get it. Are you on differential pay?
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As for us, it looks pretty clear that our LO won't be going back to daycare until August since I am a teacher and don't need childcare over the summer. Daycare is considered an essential service, but she is choosing to stay closed as long as the school district is (I don't blame her!) I called her yesterday and she doesn't have an official stance or request on payment, so we decided to pay half our tuition to keep her "spot" although the provider said that all spots are secured. Such weird times.
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