I find it very troubling that the School Board members of SAD 52 would vote to close a viable early childhood educational program in the district rather than seek new methods to create similar programs in the surrounding areas to satisfy the public need. The board members had obviously made their decision months before even hearing all of the pertinent arguments to continue our program at Step by Step Child Care.

They have crushed the hearts of disappointed parents who will find it difficult to replace the care and attention they have received over the past 12 years of operation.

Several members agreed that there is no doubt in the quality care and educational opportunities provided by the center, yet they refused to acknowledge its necessity by closing the doors and displacing 61 children to find comparable child care elsewhere.

No one can dispute the value of safe and reputable child care in today’s society, but now, these young children, who have been with us since infancy, will need to re-establish themselves in new and unfamiliar settings within a few months’ time.

Shame on every member of the board who denied the children at Step by Step their right to embrace the advantages of a quality early educational opportunity and the stability of a comfortable and nurturing environment.

Sue Johnson, Buckfield