Mt. Hope Lutheran Church to close preschool, daycare Dec. 9

Mount Hope Lutheran Church will be shutting down it’s long-running preschool and daycare services December 9, 2016.

The church, located at 9640 Montwood Drive, has offered preschool and daycare services for nearly 50 years.

Pastor Matt Barnhouse told ABC-7 the decision was made by the church council because of financial issues and a drop in enrollment.

The decision wasn’t made lightly. “There are a lot of moving pieces and it breaks our heart to do this,” the pastor added.

In an email sent to ABC-7, the church cited “decreased enrollment, changes in the YISD school system; building repairs, both expected and unexpected; and unpaid tuition, not to mention health challenges of staff members.”

The church further stated, “Income has declined for some time reaching historic lows covering only 40% of the school’s monthly expenses … There are systemic and foundational issues which need to be addressed. Over the coming months, we plan to research and explore new programming options for the building, all the while listening intently to how God is leading us forward.”

Parents ABC-7 spoke with Tuesday said they could have done something if given a warning. “The parents and families weren’t given any opportunity to try to see if we could do anything to salvage it,” said Suzanne Leon. “I think just the response was that of shock, of feeling like we weren’t even considered in the equation.”

Leon has put four children through Mount Hope’s preschool and daycare, including a 16 year-old son now in high school. Her three-year-old daughter is currently enrolled in the program.

“This place was full of teachers that really loved and took really good care of our children and provided them with a Christian-based curriculum,” Leon said.

While the church hinted at YISD’s free pre-k as a contributing factor, there’s also a larger trend in enrollment. It is down from about 60 kids in the 1980’s to just eleven now.

While Leon has been able to find a new daycare, not all parents have, including a special needs child. Leon remains worried about them and the six teachers who will now be out of work right before the holidays.

ABC-7 reached out to YISD to find out more about the free universal pre-K and the impacts it could be having on daycare businesses. The pre-k is available to all, no matter where they live in our area, as long as they’re at least four years old at the start of the school year. It is limited in how many it can accept. There are also pre-qualifications that increase the likelihood of being accepted, like limited English proficiency, being in a low-income household or being the child of a service member.

YISD Spokeswoman Patricia Ayala said they haven’t heard complaints about the impact of their free pre-K on other businesses and sent this statement in response:

“The Ysleta Independent School District feels strongly about early childhood education and the opportunity to educate our children to be college and career ready starting with free Universal Pre-K.”