SACO, Maine — Daycare is expensive, and pre-kindergarten can be an affordable option for parents. Pre-K also is proven to benefit children to set them up for success in kindergarten and grade school.
The fact is though, pre-K isn't an option for every child in every community.
In Saco, the school department wanted to expand its program to offer more kids a pre-K opportunity, but to do so, it needs more space and that's where an issue has surfaced.
It's a story of a community trying to solve a problem but instead ended up with a bigger problem.
"I was speechless," said Sarah Truman, a Saco resident, and mom to three children.
"I was outraged," said Louis Waterhouse another Saco resident and business owner.
Truman and Waterhouse are among the taxpayers who are angered by a decision by the Saco School Department to sign a 10-year lease for a building that's sitting empty.
The rent? $24,000 a month.
"We started paying for a building in July that we are not using," said Truman. "I can see this money being used as two teacher's salaries already that's been thrown out the window for this."
The School Department wants to use the space at 5 Willey Road for its expanded pre-k program.
The problem: an entity like a public school is prohibited from using the property.
Why? It's located in an industrial park that was funded by an EDA Grant from the Department of Commerce with the intention of creating jobs and tax revenue and the park's covenants prohibit the ownership and use of any parcel by a non-taxable entity.
The building is owned by Toddle Inn, a private daycare franchise with several locations in the state.
On June 19, more than a month after the lease was signed, the city sent a warning letter to Toddle Inn and the school department with concerns about the lease and violations of the covenants.
The city directed Saco Schools to cease and desist its use of the property.
A lawyer for Toddle Inn responded July 19 in a letter to the city saying his client disagrees with the city and that, "the arguments set forth in the letter are without merit. If they have merit, the arguments do not void the lease."
A letter from the lawyer representing the School Department to the city dated August 7 says the city council should approve the school department's use of the property because, "the use is a taxable use because the owner, Toddle Inn, will continue to pay the same taxes it paid while in possession of the property."
Emily Roy, a spokesperson for the City of Saco tells NEWS CENTER Maine that the Parks and Recreation Department offered space at the Community Center for the pre-k program last year and allowed them to continue using the space this year.
A statement from Roy reads in part, "city staff also assisted school staff with a few other options that were considered prior to Toddle Inn."
She says each of those options required permits or planning board approvals and the school department decided to "move forward with an alternate option."
A lawyer for the school department tells NEWS CENTER Maine under the lease agreement it was the landlord's obligation to seek any needed approvals for the use of the building.
Their statement reads in part, "the School Department's goal remains to reach a practical and expeditious resolution to this matter while simultaneously providing a safe and enriching pre-kindergarten program."
Our requests for comment from the lawyer representing Toddle Inn went unreturned.
Sarah Truman will be watching closely to see what happens next as her youngest is expected to enroll in the pre-k program next year.
And as for Louis Waterhouse who owns the property next to Toddle Inn in the same business park, he's angered by each month that passes with another $24,000 gone.
"No one is above the covenants of this park. Not me or any of the other property owners," he said.
On Monday the city's zoning board of appeals will review an appeal by the lawyer for the Saco School Department – who argues the lease does not violate the covenants, the school's proposed use does not require review and approval by the planning board, and the proposed use does not require a new certificate of occupancy.
Currently, the pre-k program is using three locations: the Saco Parks and Recreation building on Franklin St, the Young School, and the First Parish Church.
OTHER STORIES PEOPLE ARE CLICKING