Several parents found out Thursday that their child's daycare is shutting down. They thought Higher Ground Church daycare was going to close in January, but Thursday was the center's last day.
Now, parents like Jennifer Topliss are left without child care.
"I'm freaking out because I have to be at work tomorrow," said Topliss.
Topliss is a single parent. She, along with other parents and staff, knew the pre-school would be closing.
The letter they received said they had 30 days, until January 6th, to find a new daycare. But, the letter on the daycare's door Thursday, cut that time down to the end of the business day.
"You just call the parents today and say that's it, sorry," questioned Topliss.
Teachers were shocked at the abrupt closure as well.
"It leaves me in a bad situation for my own family, for my own kids, right before Christmas," explained BrRonnette Buyard, a teacher at the school.
"I'm not in this business for money because I don't make a lot," said Becky Rocha, another teacher. "I'm in this business for the kids. This is what I do. This is what I love and apparently that's not what they are into. They are in it for the money."
Rocha is talking about Higher Ground Church. The church began operating the daycare over the summer under the same child care license as the previous owner of the Morning Glory Learning Center, but they could no longer afford to keep it open.
Now, the church says it is experiencing the same money problems, and advisers told church leaders that sharing the license could get the church in further trouble.
"We, the church, would be held liable for anything that went wrong with the pre-school because we did not have our own license," explained Duane Meadors, Co-Pastor of Higher Ground Church. "We feel like we have done something exceptional, that we have given one day, when actually we could have closed it last night when we found out this information."
Parents and staff are left to figure out what to do.
"You can't just pick up your kids and stick them somewhere else," said Topliss.
"I don't know what to do," said Rocha. "I can't even cry because I don't know what to do."
And, they have to try to fill the void of the trusting parent, student, teacher bond that is now forced to be cut.
