Prices up, then down at Celina day care

CELINA - The new owner of Kids Kastle Daycare and Learning Center backtracked on increasing prices after parents and the director of operations voiced outrage last week.

In an email to parents on Oct. 1, Kids Kastle administrator Jodi Boos announced she and owner Cindy Braun would retire in the middle of October. She said Victorum Learning Center of Dayton would take over the center effective Oct. 3.

The center is owned by Vince Pecoraro, a Dayton-area U.S. Air Force civil servant, real estate agent and real estate investor who said he fell into the childcare businesses by taking over a childcare facility his children attended in 2017 after the tenant failed to make payroll.

On Oct. 3, director of operations Loren Nelson Sr. emailed parents to inform them prices at the former Kids Kastle would be increasing effective Oct. 31. Under the new ownership, rates for infants would increase to $272; toddlers, $251; preschool, $233; and school age, $122. Parents said the increase nearly doubled the price of tuition.

Later that evening, Boos and Braun issued a joint email to parents saying they had no idea prices would increase so drastically.

"We were told over and over, and our staff was told also, that there were going to be small adjustments in time," the email from Boos and Braun reads. "By NO means, do we feel that this rate change was a small adjustment. We were in shock when we heard what what he had put in the email."

The next day, Pecoraro emailed families to introduce himself and apologized for taking a "rip the Band-Aid off approach" with the changeover.

During a packed Thursday evening open house attended by dozens of concerned parents, Nelson said he considered quitting after seeing the new rates.

"I've never thought about walking away from my career until this week," Nelson said at the meeting.

Pecoraro was in Minneapolis on military orders and could not attend. He also did not return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.

Although Pecoraro in the Oct. 4 email to parents said the rate increase was partially due to his goal of transforming Victorum Learning Center into an employee-owned company under the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Nelson at the open house said the rate increase could not be justified.

Parents during the meeting asserted they should have been given advanced notice that the day care would be changing hands and rates would increase.

With rates initially set to increase on Oct. 31, parents emphasized they had less than a month to get their finances in order to pay for childcare that had doubled in price.

Some parents said they felt cornered because of the lack of childcare in the area. Others said they would have to quit their jobs to stay at home and care for their children because they couldn't afford the increase.

After the contentious yet ultimately productive open house, Nelson presented a new set of guarantees to parents in an email on Oct. 9, including lowering all rates for tuition and keeping "no-pay days" in lieu of a new vacation policy.

The price for infant tuition was lowered to $190.40 per week; toddlers, $175.70; preschool, $163.10; and school age, $85.40 for care before and after school or $45 for care before or after school. Summer and holiday tuition will be $122 per week.

The new rates will go into effect the week of Nov. 28 and will remain in effect for one year at the minimum, according to information provided in the Oct. 9 email to parents.

The price increase will contribute to raises and increased benefits to attract and retain employees as the day care seeks to double its staff, Nelson said at the open house.

Nelson noted part-time rates will remain the same for the same period of one year. However, rates will increase consistent with full-time rates as availability is expanded.

In the event Victorum Learning Center should raise rates, a minimum of a 90-day notice will be given to enrolled families.

Nelson also introduced the center's two new administrators, Melissa Hunter and Taylor Elking.

"I'm extremely happy to have two qualified, wonderful administrators picked by parents and staff," he said Tuesday.

Nelson in the Oct. 9 email noted the center will adopt a policy allowing for 10 "no-pay days" in lieu of the company's established vacation policy.

Parents get 10 tuition-free days to use without any adverse action against the enrollment status of the student.

Victorum Learning Center will offer discounts on tuition for siblings in the amount of 10% off the oldest child's tuition. There is an additional 10% off tuition for each successive sibling's tuition, with the oldest child's tuition remaining at the full rate.

The center also offers discounts for educators, active and retired military, federal and state employees and first responders, including law enforcement, fire department, EMT and hospital personnel.

All discounts will be applied after the tuition increases take effect the week of Nov. 28.

Nelson said he also plans to form community partnerships with local businesses to bring subsidized tuition benefits to employees.

Additionally, he plans to seek connections with local farmers to provide fresh produce not only to the Celina center, but also the programs in the Dayton area.

Educators with school age children will be able to keep their spot in the program during the summer, he said, and homework support for school age children will be provided.

Nelson added there has been an overwhelming response to the formation of a parent committee to advise on improvements and community relationships.

"It was great to get some understanding. The communities in Celina and St. Marys and the surrounding areas are just exceptional," he said Tuesday. "I have been floored by the amount of participation. I am really, really pleased to have gotten to know the community."