BY SARAH STEPHENS
EMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Local parents with children in daycare at East Memorial Baptist Church received letters earlier this week, notifying them that services will be closing Dec. 30th. Once a private school, East Memorial Christian Academy closed its operation in 2020. The church and daycare, however, have remained active.
We received the letter that was sent to parents, and it is below.
June 28, 2021
Dear Parents:
I am taking this time to inform you of some things that are going to potentially be taking place during the coming months. Our church has been approached by a buyer and it appears that it is going to come to fruition. With the sale, our church will be purchasing land and relocating. The decision has been made by our church, that we will no longer have a daycare. With that being said, the final day for East Memorial Baptist Church Daycare and Preschool will be Thursday, December 30th. I realize that this will come as a surprise to so many of you, as it did me when it was first discussed with me several months ago. At that time, it was just in the planning stages, and I was told not to discuss this with anyone. My heart is so heavy, but I am trusting that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan for all of us.
I am out of the office right now due to a family emergency but am more than willing to answer any questions you may have via Remind or an email. Once I am back in the office, I will be happy to speak with you in person.
I am going to be making some calls to some of my connections to inquire about any possible openings at other centers that I know the directors of. As I get further information about possible openings, I will get that information out to you.
Please know that I love and care for each of you and your children and that I will help any way that I can.
Sincerely,
Lisa Montgomery
Through speaking with area officials and parents of children in the day care, we learned that an official contract has not been signed at this point, but it is very likely the sale will go through. The question is, what will take its place?
Sources tell us that Central Alabama Community College is the leading contender. They also confirmed that the proposed Ivy Classical Charter School had also reached out to EMCA but were told negotiations were already in the works with another buyer.
We reached out to CACC but were told they have no comment at this time.
Over the past year CACC has been looking for a permanent home that would service both Autauga and Elmore Counties as well as surrounding communities. A couple of years ago, CACC utilized classrooms at Stanhope Elmore High School before setting up shop within Prattville city limits at the Pratt’s Mill Location. They received financial incentives from the City of Prattville and Autauga County to locate in that facility, which is not uncommon.
After moving to Prattville in the temporary setting, CACC met with area officials at Lanark/Alabama Wildlife Federation, sharing their vision of a new, permanent college campus, and their search for a location. They left it open as to which county they would choose for their permanent home.
If CACC is the buyer for EMCA, it would fall within Autauga County.
While all of the answers are not officially available at this time, parents of children in the daycare, and parishioners at the church know their time on that property is limited if a sale goes through. While the church will seek a new location to build, the daycare will not be included in future plans according to the letter sent out to parents.
This has left six months for parents to arrange for other daycare, something that a parent told us isn’t as easy at that may sound.
“Yes I received the letter. I guess the church got bought, has new land to rebuild or is looking for new land, and voted to not have a daycare associated with the church anymore. Thankfully we have six months to find a new daycare, but most places have a 6-12 month long waitlist. Maybe with the amount of teachers that will be out of a job some daycares can open up additional classrooms,” a parent told the EAN.
“I’m on three waiting lists now, but there is probably close to 100 kids that need a new place to go. So I’m on a waiting list like everyone else. Thankfully the three daycares I’ve talked to know the situation and are going to see what they can come up with to help us, like open up additional classrooms, etc. It’s going to be hard. There aren’t enough daycares in the area to accommodate the closure. Plus I have two kids which will make it harder to find somewhere that will take them both.”
