I understand the hardship the economy has placed on many businesses and families.  However, I do not understand the cold heartedness with which this decision was executed.  As a parent of 3 children at Tecumseh Preschool, we are scrambling to find suitable childcare in a city with limited childcare options.  If this decision took years to make perhaps the owner could have graced the families and staff with at least one day's notice of the decision to close? 

I found out that my childcare no longer existed when I e-mailed my schedule for the month of November to the director.  I received a return e-mail stating the daycare had closed.  The owner, nor current staff, notified this family that the daycare would not be functional when we picked up our child on Thursday, October 22.  Luckily my family was on vaction this week, and had no daycare scheduled.  Many families came to Tecumseh Daycare Monday morning to find the doors locked, lights off, and no option of childcare. Couldn't this decision have been communicated to the families living in Tecumseh?  I find it very irresponsible and selfish of the owner to leave many working families in our city with no childcare and no notice of her decision to close.

Shame on you Marta for your inconsiderate nature...you are not forgiven!

The Brinson Family, Tecumseh, MI

I agree 100% with Heide.  The way this was handled is completly inexcusible and unforgivable.  This facility had wonderful Day Care Mom's that gave their heart and souls to the children they took care of.  But you did not have the courtesty to let them know what was happening, let alone the parents of their children.

I don't understand how you can say there was competition in Tecumseh.  NOW there are not enough Day Cares to fit all of the kids that you pushed out!  And what are the DayCare Mom's supposed to do now.  You didn't even give them the courtesty of time, to look for another job.  How would you have felt had the circumstances been different and if they all decided to quit and not give you at least a couple weeks notice.  That is just plain POOR business ethics.  If they don't collectively sue you for back wages and stress, you will be lucky. 

Don't say that this was hapening over the course of a couple years because that makes you look even worse.  It appears to all of us that it is just  poor business management on your part.

Wishing the best to all the families and staff.  This may have been a blessing in disguise.

It takes a big person to forgive someone when the issue at hand is huge. So, here is what we are being asked to forgive:

• Being let go with a one-day notice (parents and employees alike)
• Not getting paid for four weeks of labor
• Being held in the dark until a foreclosure notice was taped to the door of the preschool – not courtesy of the owner
• Being promised that there were “sources” to fix this mess, if we could just hang in there
• Facing the unemployment office with the realization that we were apparently not on record as working
• Being told by the courthouse that, since the owner conveniently lives in Minnesota, we may win the case for unpaid wages here in Lenawee County, but the Minnesota court may not honor that ruling
• Knowing that as soon as the unavoidable bankruptcy goes through, we have absolutely NO chance of ever seeing the money we worked hard for

The former employees are all from low income families who worked for a small amount of compensation that was not adequate, but we counted the hugs and kisses from the kids to accept that situation. Now we are not only unemployed at a time where finding a job is next to impossible, we have all of the above added to our situation. We are being asked to forgive all that. How big do you think we are? I, for one, am a generally very forgiving person, but this is one situation, I don’t know how to forgive.

Thank you

Heide Kaminski

Unemployed day care workers please feel free to sign up to substitute for Tecumseh Public Schools Noon Supervisors when they are absent. We are always looking to hire substitutes and would consider it a bonus to hire adults with experience and a love of children. You can contact Donna Elser, Tecumseh's Human Resource Coordinator at 517-423-3804  or go to our Board office at 212 N. Ottawa and complete an application.

Debbie Langmeyer, Sutton Principal

I must admit, your offer to be a substitute lunch lady will pay more in one day than these women have recieved in the last 4 weeks but it hardly compensates for what has happened to them.  It takes more than  a lunch time to create the realtionships that these people had for "their" children.  They have watched many grow from infants to middle school before they had to let them go.  I hardly think a few lunch hours a year can replace that but I am sure your heart was in the right place when you offered.

A big THANK YOU to Birth Toddler and Beyond for opening their doors at a minutes notice and taking in some of our kids.  Due to the influx of children, they have also interviewed and accepted some of our "displaced" Day Care Mom's.  So now our children will have an easier adjustment to their new surroundings by having some familiar faces that know them!

How wonderful for a Principal in our community to offer a possible solution to attempt to make ends meet until suitable employment can be located.  Thank you Ms. Langmeyer for reaching out to offer help.  I'd say a little income is better than no income that has been experienced for the last month. 

Good luck to all of us parents in finding suitable daycare and best of luck to the Daycare Moms in finding replacement income and sorting out the mess created by bad business practices.