Daycare COVID-19 safety guidelines draw criticism from owner

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Childcarebook
A Midland day care center owner says she may lose money under the state's new COVID-19 guidelines. | Stock Photo

As part of the second phase of his plan to reopen Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott gave childcare centers the okay to return to business.

One Midland daycare owner does not approve of Abbott’s order. Glenda Lane, of Envirokids Preschool & Childcare Center, told KXAN that she opened her business not for financial reasons but her love for children and her husband’s goal to give them a protective environment.

The facility has been in business for more than half a decade, yet Lane fears the doors could close again.

“Everybody keeps saying this is the new normal,” she told the station. “Well if this is the new normal, childcare services can’t stay open with these ratios.”

Lane's center is licensed to look after 226 children, but safety guidelines brought that number down to just 126. Lane said her licensing representative told her she could be cited if she disobeyed Abbott’s orders.

“Some people are saying we need to hire more people,” Lane told KXAN. “Well, when we go through the system to get our fingerprints, it says there’s no availability for appointment. We had to wait two weeks to get an appointment in Lamesa, which is an hour away.”

Downsizing and closures may prompt daycares and preschools to either increase tuition or decline admittance to additional children. She told the station that her facility had to turn 15 children away. She estimates close to $400,000 yearly could go down the drain if she continues to run the center in accordance with Abbott’s guidelines.

Envirokids director Dyanne Gutierrez assured parents that the safety of their children is of the highest priority. Gutierrez, whose own daughter is enrolled in the program, said she would not introduce the young girl to an environment that is unsafe.