NECC to close Early Learning Program, leaving families and staff scrambling

MILLERTON – The North East Community Center announced Friday that it is suspending its Early Learning Program, citing mounting financial challenges in running a daycare — a decision that came suddenly for both parents and staff.

Families learned of the decision in an email from NECC’s Executive Director Christine Sergent, which was also posted to the NECC website. Staff members were notified on Thursday and Friday. The news came as a shock to all.

Sergent said the burdens of running a childcare center had become unsustainable. “Like many childcare programs, we were facing ongoing challenges, but we kept fighting to keep it open,” she said. “We felt it was worth it and wanted to make it work.”

NECC Board Chair Irene Banning said the decision came after months of difficult deliberation. “With rising costs across the board, the loss of public funding for other programs, and anticipated increases in healthcare premiums – it became impossible to continue running this program. And it broke our hearts,” she said.

Banning noted that establishing a childcare program had long been one of NECC’s goals. “People worked incredibly hard to make it happen,” she said. “But the economics of childcare are, I think, insurmountable – even for a nonprofit.”

Many parents said they understood the financial realities but were frustrated by the way the closure was communicated, describing it as abrupt and lacking transparency.

Finegan Ferreboeuf, a resident of Ancram whose child has been enrolled in the toddler room since May, said the decision could have been handled more thoughtfully and done less harm to families, staff and children.

“I think all of the families involved understand that the early childcare landscape is incredibly difficult, and people are aware that there is a loss of funding at NECC,” Ferreboeuf said. “Where we feel disappointed is that we weren’t allowed to be involved in any of this. There was a real lack of communication with the community and the stakeholders.”

Timeline and financial pressures

Sergent and Banning said a combination of factors led to the difficult decision.

When Dutchess County stopped accepting new applications for childcare subsidies in early September — citing high demand and limited funding — the ELP was already facing declining enrollment as many preschoolers transitioned to universal public pre-K programs.

The resulting loss of tuition and subsidy revenue created a severe financial strain, prompting a series of emergency board meetings to evaluate the situation and explore potential solutions.

“The board spent several weeks analyzing a variety of strategies to avoid closure,” Sergent said. “But by the end of October, it became clear that we couldn’t save the program.”

Between June and mid-September, NECC also learned it would lose $350,000 in grant funding and earmarked donations. Sergent said roughly 60% to 65% of NECC’s overall budget comes from grants, 20% to 25% from donations, and 15% to 20% from fees and registrations — a structure that leaves nonprofit organizations vulnerable when any single stream falters.

Sergent and Banning added that the organization is also contending with rising costs across every department, from insurance and utilities to staff salaries and rent.

NECC continues to serve many of the community’s most vulnerable residents through its food, transportation, and case management programs — all facing rising demand and higher costs.

“We’re working with the county and others to make sure there’s food available for people impacted by SNAP reductions and the rising cost of living,” Sergent said. “Families are having to make impossible choices — paying for rent, keeping a vehicle to get to work — and food doesn’t always make the cut.”

Criticism of the closure

While parents expressed deep appreciation for NECC and its staff, many were disappointed by the lack of consultation before the decision was made.

Ferreboeuf described a tight-knit community, saying that parents would have rallied to help keep the program afloat, even if temporarily. “The way the announcement was made was disappointing and feels antithetical to the fabric and character of NECC,” she said.

One former ELP parent said NECC’s limited marketing and sparse social media outreach suggested missed opportunities to boost enrollment and awareness about the program.

“In my mind, there was more that the organization could have been doing to fill spots,” said Hannah Schiller of Pine Plains, whose daughter entered the program at its inception three years ago and left at the end of the summer to join a public Pre-K.

Schiller also noted the strong parent community, saying “a lot of parents have skills that could have contributed to the support of the program.” She said that her daughter loved her time there and the program provided a critical need for working families. “We’re a working family so it was crucial to us to have a nearby daycare that we could afford.”

Staff left in flux

Emily Redmond, who has been the ELP Director for the past year and a half, criticized the private nature of the decision. She added that she and her colleagues would have valued the opportunity to discuss potential solutions before the decision was finalized.

“I want to be clear that I believe deeply in NECC’s mission,” Redmond said, “The work they do is vital to this community and should be supported.”

Redmond told The News that she was fired for alerting her staff about the impending closure after a Thursday meeting with Banning and Sergent. NECC leadership had planned to deliver the news themselves on Friday during a full ELP staff meeting. Redmond said she chose to inform her staff early so they could hear the news directly from someone they trusted — and have the chance to leave “with their heads up” and say goodbye to the children in their care.

Three staff members have lost their jobs, with the center scheduled to shut down completely by mid-December.

“I knew the position I was putting myself in,” she said. “Maybe it would have bought me another four weeks of employment, but then I’d be gone too. So I had a choice — I could be a loyal rule follower until the end, or I could go out supporting my staff the way I felt they truly needed to be supported in that moment. I chose the latter.”

She said the impact on the youngest stakeholders – the children enrolled at the ELP – should not be taken lightly. “Anyone familiar with child development understands how critical it is for young children to have the chance to process loss and say goodbye.”

Kim Yarnell, a current ELP parent, described Redmond as “a phenomenal leader,” adding that families “can’t say enough about the work she was doing to make the program healthy and successful.”

Yarnell said she doesn’t place blame on NECC as an organization but sees the closure as part of a broader statewide and national childcare crisis.

What’s next for families and staff

Despite the closure notice, the ELP will remain open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., through Dec. 19 for families who still need care. The program will operate with a reduced staff until all children are placed in new programs or employees transition to other jobs.

“Families are not being turned away today or tomorrow,” Sergent said. “We are staying open through December for anyone that needs us.”

Additionally, NECC is partnering with the Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam Counties, which helps families find available and licensed childcare placements.

Yarnell – who relies on child care and said she was only able to move to Millerton because the ELP opened three years ago – immediately contacted the Child Care Council, learning that only one licensed facility within 15 miles of Millerton currently has an opening. Most other childcare providers have waitlists.

Banning acknowledged that the closure has been deeply painful for everyone involved.

“Once the decision was made, we needed to create and implement a process that treated all stakeholders with the utmost respect,” she said, noting that the announcement of the closure didn’t go as planned, given all the moving pieces. “That created additional anxiety and distress for everyone — the staff and the families — and we’re truly sorry for that.”