Fishes, Purple, Tiny... A 60's Tale, page 8
THE AMAGANSETT
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FEBRUARY 2024 INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
Montauk Childcare Center is in trouble
I
t was a lively public session of the February 1st meeting of the East Hampton Town Board as a number of parents of children enrolled in the Montauk Childcare Center and employees spoke in the public portion of the meeting to demand help to prevent a threatened May 3 closing of the Center. The Center has been operated by the Economic Opportunity Center of Suffolk, a non-profit organization whose CEO, Adrian Fassett is paid over a half million dollars to run the organization which operates childcare and social service centers throughout the county. Their income, which in 2022 totalled a bit over $22 million, consists of about 60% from program service fees, and the rest from grants and contributions. They have been the operators Montauk Childcare, which resides in the Montauk Playhouse Community Center, 240 Edgemere Street, for 17 years. They claim that they can no longer cover operating deficits, which
by George Fiala
are caused by an insufficient number of students. The reason for the constraint on students, as explained by Kelly Bloss, a Montauk resident and assistant teacher at the center, who spoke first at the meeting, is because the law re-
"A second option would be to give the same amount of money to whichever group comes in to take over as the town gives to Eleanor Whitmore." quires one teacher for every five children, aged 2-5 years. They cannot get enough teachers due to the relatively low salaries as she explained. "Montauk Childcare suffers from staff shortages due to the cost of living in the area. Staff churn is driven by the inability to affordably live here and the inability of sustaining daily commutes from as far west as Shirley." She went on to say that many more parents are interesting in placing their children in the Center than can be accommodated.
Melissa Brennan depends on the Center for survival.
She brought up the fact that the Town of East Hampton subsidizes the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, on Gingerbread Lane, to the tune of $182,000 a year, and is planning to spend $20 million on a senior center. She and others are asking for equal
treatment, possibly operating the Center themselves, placing the current Director Pilar Prado, in charge. Fallon Nigro, Montauk resident, revealed that the take-home pay for a teacher is only $550 per week, which makes it difficult to find qualified help. She said that Montauk Childcare is the only center from Southampton to Montauk that takes in children less than 18 months old. "While most people would assume the Hamptons is a rich and well-todo area, it is in fact the locals out here that are struggling daily to make ends meet. This daycare is the only way most parents with 9 to 5 jobs are able to sustain their workload," the real estate salesperson said dramatically. She went on to suggest that one option would be for East Hampton make the current workers part of the employee union. "A second option would be to give the same amount of money to whichever group comes in to take over as the town gives Eleanor Whitmore to help offset some of those costs. I think both places are well deserving of receiving help from the town to help its own people and I think matching the $182,000 would be the right and just thing to do." Other speakers included Melissa Brennan, a single mother from Amagansett who lives and works in Amagansett. Brennan mentioned that she must send her 18 month old to the Montauk facility because of her long working hours. To pay the bills she has to work full-time and needs a daycare with extended hours.
"Working families are the backbone of our community, and the best way to support them is to make sure they have access to affordable and comprehensive child care, she continued. David Piacente and Mariah Miltier also spoke on behalf of the Center. But as was pointed out by the Board at the end of the meeting, the law says that they must put out a 90 day Request for Proposal to operate the Center. Speakers complained that this is cutting it to close, certainty is need to know that there will be childcare for the summer season. They also wanted to have more input from parents and teachers, as well as transparency about the RFP process the Board responded that they cannot closely involve Prado due to conflicts of interest regulations and they have to follow the law. It's possible that the Town may end up with a situation similar to Eleanor Whitmore, but it seems the RFP process has to play out first.
Kelly Bloss of Montauk would love for the Center to be able to pay teachers more.