WYOMING, Mich. — Two Wyoming mothers say their lives have been turned upside down after Connections Child Development Center announced it will not reopen as planned — a decision they say was made by church members, not parents.
Charquica McCurdy and Lisa Engstrom had been counting on the center to reopen March 23, ever since Connections officials had announced it.
Both mothers had made arrangements with their employers based on that date. But earlier this week, they received an update from administrator Richard South, who is also the lead pastor at Abundant Life Church of Wyoming, which is connected to the daycare, saying the center would remain closed.
"I cried. Yeah, I cried when I first got the news, " Lisa said.
"I was there with my mentor, and I read the email, and I looked at her, I started crying," Charquica said.
The closure has forced Charquica to cut her work shifts in half while she figures out her next steps.
"So I'm not working my full eight hour shifts, I'm cutting them in half, you know, so after this, because they decided that they're not going to open, my boss is being lenient with me now, but who's to say they're going to continue to be lenient with me?" Charquica said.
Lisa had already restructured her entire work schedule because of the original closure. Switching to third shift and missing out on much needed family time.
The March 23rd opening was supposed to help her get things back in order.
"I have just told my boss that I'm ready to come back to first shift. Had it all worked out with connections that my children were going to start on the 23rd and had my date set to go back to first shift on April 1."
WATCH: Wyoming daycare parents blindsided after Connections Child Development Center announces it won't reopen
The decision to keep the center closed was made by church members, according to a live stream of a sermon from March 8th posted to YouTube by the church.
"Tallying the votes, overwhelmingly we have voted to pause our connections child development center day care," South said in the video.
That revelation angered both mothers, who say parents should have had a voice in the decision.
"Don't you think you should have asked the parents that are paying for your daycare like you should have had a meeting with all the parents, not the church," Lisa said.
Later Pastor South would send out this letter to parents:
Lisa has been searching for alternative childcare for her 2 daughters since the announcement, but says the options she has found that are far more expensive than Connections.
"Some were between 750 to $1,000 so at that point, I might as well be a stay at home mom," Lisa said. " That's more than what I make. And I make pretty good money, but I mean paying those kind of prices, I wouldn't have anything left over to pay for a mortgage. or my car, groceries, you know, or anything else so."
Even if they do find more affordable daycare, transportation and proximity is also huge for Charquica.
"I have to go to work at 7am she has to go to work at six. We depended on that so be able to wake up and not rush because we live so close to what we need to do. You know, that was a relief for us," Charquica said.
I reached out to the center and church multiple times and did not hear anything back. I then went to the daycare in person and spoke with Pastor South, who told me he had no comment at this time.
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