A community in Brisbane’s south is fighting to stop the closure of a local childcare and kindergarten centre they say has been a community pillar for decades.
Western Brisbane local Angelina Tila said she continued to send her children to the YMCA Acacia Ridge Early Learning Centre despite moving away from the suburb years ago.
“For my family, this centre has never simply been a childcare facility … our relationship with the centre spans decades,” she said.
Parents and staff members at the early learning centre were notified in mid-October Y Queensland (formerly YMCA Queensland) would shutter from December 18, ending more than 40 years of operation at the community organisation’s oldest – and now last standing – childcare centre in the state.
Fellow parent Luke McMahon said the closure meant he was scrambling ahead of Christmas to find a new centre for his daughter.
“It’s not just that, it’s that … it took her about five months before she started feeling comfortable at the centre,” he said.
Another parent who expected to keep her son enrolled at the Acacia Ridge Early Learning Centre for kindergarten next year said she was now struggling to find placements at other centres with fewer than three months’ notice.
The families have launched several petitions with the Brisbane City Council and online, attracting several hundred signatures.
A Y Queensland spokesperson said the not-for-profit organisation had found it “increasingly challenging” to keep the early learning facility afloat.
“The decision to close Acacia Ridge Early Learning Centre was not made lightly,” the spokesperson said.
“Despite our best efforts, we’ve reached a point where continuing to operate the centre is no longer viable.”
The early education facility sits on several blocks leased to Y Queensland until 2050, with the plot also housing sports and recreation fields, a community centre, a special assistance school.
Tila said part of the centre’s appeal was it connection to the community, including the educators’ commitment to children in their care, and the diverse cultural background of the centre’s community.
“My children are the only ones who have Fijian heritage in the centre, so [one educator] said to me, ‘how can we celebrate Fiji Day, can we do this?’ – they include everyone,” Tila said.
Families were also concerned the early learning centre was subject to conditions laid out in its Brisbane City Council lease more than 50 years ago that would require council approval to change the use of the land to anything but a child care facility.
McMahon said he hoped Y Queensland could transfer its lease to another childcare provider, which had occurred for the organisation’s Birtinya centre – which closed down earlier in the year.
The council said decisions concerning the lease fell to Y Queensland.
The not-for-profit organisation declined to comment on the lease conditions, and could not reveal plans for the site, although a spokesperson said Y Queensland would maintain its presence in the suburb though its other community facilities.
Y Queensland said it had checked for vacancies with nearby childcare centres, and emailed families a list of six options in late October.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
