Parents ask Moore County Schools to review daycare weather-closure policy after preemptive shutdowns

Jessica Arno, a parent of a child enrolled at the Baby Bulls Academy at McNeese Creek Elementary, told the Moore County Schools Board of Education on Aug. 11 that families who rely on year‑round, full‑day, tuition‑based childcare are being harmed when programs on school campuses close preemptively for weather without local, site‑level assessment. "In a county where 70% of children live in homes where all available adults work, these closures are more than inconvenient. They're costly and destabilizing," Arno said during public comment.

Arno said Baby Bulls recently revised its handbook to mirror the K‑12 calendar language on closures and that the program — which families self‑transport and which has no rural bus routes — has closed without local assessment even when conditions improved before morning. She described the financial effects on working families, saying backup care can cost as much as $180 a day and weeks of unplanned closures can erode parents' paid time off. "Even a few unnecessary closure days can wipe out a significant portion of a working parent's annual leave," Arno said.

The request for a formal review came during the public‑comment period; the board did not take formal action on policy that night. Arno asked the board and district leadership to evaluate site‑specific options such as delayed openings or locally informed assessments, to ensure changes to daycare handbooks include parent representation, and to allow parent participation in the Sept. 12 meeting of district leadership and principals that the district had scheduled to discuss day‑care policies.

During discussion to extend Arno's allotted speaking time, Board Member Benway moved to suspend the public‑comment time‑limit policy so Arno could finish; the board approved that suspension. No board motion to change daycare policy or the handbook was made that night.

District staff present at the meeting acknowledged the tension between safety and the workforce impact of closures; Superintendent Locklear and board members indicated the district would consider a formal review and recommended that parents share written copies of their comments to aid staff review. Arno offered to email her remarks to the district.

Clarifying context provided by Arno in public comment: Moore County has fewer than 2,900 licensed childcare spots for children under 6, long waiting lists in some areas, and an average annual cost of childcare of about $13,500. Arno asked the district to ensure transparency for programs housed on school campuses and to include parent representatives in any policy‑handbook revisions affecting campus childcare.

The board took no policy vote that night but agreed to forward concerns to staff for consideration; Arno left a written copy of her remarks as requested by board members.