The ACT government has confirmed it spent $1.5 million renovating the Fyshwick Early Childhood Centre less than two years ago as parents say more should have been done to save the centre from closing next month.
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The parents' frustration has been directed to the management of Community Services #1, formerly Southside Community Services, a community-based, not-for-profit, non-government organisation which runs the centre, along with six other childcare centres in the ACT.
The ACT government owns the building in which the centre is housed and the office of Chief Minister Andrew Barr confirmed it funded $1.5 million in renovations, finishing in 2014, partly to accommodate more childcare places.
The government has not ruled out the possibility of another childcare operator moving into the building, with at least five operators on ACT Property Group's waiting list for childcare centres.
Community Services #1 chief executive officer Amanda Tobler said it had asked the government if it could retain use of the building in Maryborough Street for possible uses including training childcare workers, school holiday programs and paint 'n' play programs.
When asked if it would seem ludicrous that a childcare centre was closing for another to possibly open on the same site, Ms Tobler said: "It would seem ludicrous that someone would be considering doing that when the centres that are already in that area are not full. We have been unable to fill the places to cover our costs and we've been putting in a concerted effort over two years to do that".
Community Services #1 told families last week that the 46-place centre would close as it was not financially viable to keep it open as it was not anywhere near at full capacity.
The Fyshwick centre, which has been in operation for 25 years, closes on June 30, with all staff and existing children guaranteed places at other centres. However, some parents who want to look to other centres not run by Community Services #1 say they are having difficulty finding places after being given less than two months to do so.
When asked why $1.5 million worth of renovations would go ahead when the centre was not looking like a viable concern, Ms Tobler said she was not at the agency at the time and would not comment on the decisions around the renovations.
Some parents say they are devastated they were not given more warning the centre was in danger and more chance to save it.
Emily Watkins, whose daughter Harper, nearly three, attends the centre, said parents would have done whatever they could to keep the facility open.
"They don't seem like they will budge or let people try to help and come up with a solution which is heart-breaking to say the least,"' she said.
Harper's dad Kieran Heidke said there would be plenty of workers in Fyshwick who could potentially use the centre but Community Services #1 did not promote the centre enough.
"It's the industrial centre of Canberra. It would be crazy to close it down," he said.
Nicola Matthews' nearly three-year-old son, Harry, attended the centre for the last 18 months so he could be close to her work in Fyshwick.
"I'm really happy with the centre and the staff, they're fabulous," she said. "I was on the waiting list for seven months trying to get him in there and all of a sudden they're closing down.
"The staff are so friendly and in tune with what Harry needs. I don't think it's fair we didn't get any opportunity to help them out."
Ms Tobler said the service chose not to inform parents that Fyshwick was in danger of closing.
"We didn't feel it was appropriate to inform the parents and stress the parents about something that we were hoping was not going to be the outcome that has happened," she said. "We were doing everything possible."
When asked if another centre run by Community Services #1 was in danger of closing, now or in the future, Ms Tobler repeated the same line: "At this moment, no other centre is being considered for closure".
