Spelman to close child care center
Spelman College will close its child care center in June because of low enrollment and greater budget needs, President Beverly Tatum announced in a note sent to alumna Wednesday.
The Marian Wright Edelman Child Development Center has room for 55 students but currently enrolls 13. Tatum wrote that Spelman can no longer afford to subsidize the center, adding that the college spends about $300,000 a year to run the program when it is near capacity.
Tatum warned last year that the college would have to close the center unless it became self-sustaining. The program has been "heavily subsidized" for more than a decade, Tatum wrote, and the money is now needed elsewhere.
"When faced with the choice between meeting urgent College needs such as increasing financial aid to retain current students, or subsidizing a significantly under-enrolled child care center in a city with other child-care options available, the choice in the best interest of the College is clear, even if emotionally difficult," Tatum wrote.
The center costs parents $840 a month, and Tatum said lowering the price is not an option. Parents who use the center have been told about the closing, officials said.
