Mary Washington Hospital daycare set to close, leaving families scrambling to find new child care
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - In Northern Virginia, parents are scrambling after they say they received notice saying their daycare center is closing in the coming months.
We’re told Kids Station powered by Kindercare daycare center has been here for at least three decades and hundreds of families are impacted, including children who have parents who work at Mary Washington Hospital across the street.
"Obviously, this was a shock to all of us. We didn’t realize this was happening… not renewing the lease," said Scott Lamond, a Fredericksburg resident, and father.
FOX 5 has learned the lease is up, and the hospital owns the building and has decided to repurpose the building, possibly for clinical purposes. Parents say they received notification last week that the center would be closed on May 24th, impacting families and reportedly staff as well.
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A spokesperson for Mary Washington Hospital says in Fall of 2021 the hospital turned over operation of the daycare center to Kindercare and made them aware the lease was up this September. Kindercare reportedly had years to find a new location. The childcare company says they were unable to do so.
There is a petition circulating to extend the lease and so far there are apparently more than 11-hundred signatures.
In a letter sent to families, they did acknowledge that it’s been a tough week for families. They say they tried to find another location but were unable to secure a new location at a cost that wouldn’t have significantly increased tuition.
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