PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — After being a pillar of the Palm Harbor community for nearly four decades, St. Luke Early Childhood Center will permanently close.
Its closure is sending shock waves among families whose children attend the center at a time when childcare costs continue to climb, and availability remains a concern for many.
"I immediately went to my husband. I said, did you get this email? Did you see this? And he was in disbelief. Our jaws literally dropped to the floor," Mom, Jessica Allbritten, explained.
Allbritten said St. Luke is a vital part of the community. But, it's also playing a major role in her son's life.
"He's grown into a completely different person than what he was at the beginning of the school year. His speech has really grown. He's now talking in full sentences, and I have to, you know, give the school and his teachers the credit," said Allbritten.
For parents like Christina Manion, St. Luke is really all she knows.
"I actually went here for preschool 30-some-odd years ago. My daughters at VPK here, now, and we were hoping to enroll our son next year in the two's class," Manion explained.
Now, parents are left scrambling after receiving an email from the center announcing its closure in May.
"There's been frantic text messages that I've received from other moms saying, what are you doing? What are you going to do next year? Where are you going to go?" Allbritten said.
We reached out to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, asking why it's closing.
It sent us this statement:
"St. Luke Catholic Church in Palm Harbor recently made the difficult decision to close its Early Childhood Center at the end of this academic year. Fr. Paul Kochu, the pastor of St. Luke, and his parish council made the decision due to changing demographics in the parish and a precipitous drop in the center’s enrollment over the past few years. After meeting with officials from the Diocese of St. Petersburg, St. Luke received permission to cease operations at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. The Early Childhood center was established in 1986. Personnel from the center and parents were informed about the decision earlier this week (see attached letter). The center’s interim director, Stephanie Murphy, is working to direct staff members and parents to Guardian Angels Catholic School and St. Ignatius Early Childhood Center."
— Teresa Peterson, Executive Director of Communications | Diocese of St. Petersburg.
This closure comes as childcare woes continue.
"Childcare costs are continuing to skyrocket," Bryan Jamele, the head of government relations and public policy for Care.com, said.
A new study by Care.com estimates 47 percent of parents now spend up to $18,000 a year on childcare costs which is almost the cost of a year of college tuition.
Availability is also a concern for many parents, especially in Pinellas County.
"My daughter is 13 months and we had intentions for her to start in the two's program here because there's not a lot of schools in the area that offer a two's class with a religion aspect to it," Manion said.
Parents wrote letters and said they're willing to do whatever it takes to keep St. Luke open for generations to come.
"We want my daughters to be a part of this. We want their kids to be a part of this. And so we're hoping that through the community's help, that we can make a change to be able to keep the school open," Allbritten said.
