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Child care assistant Kelly Duncan was a lonely figure last week as she packed away for the last time the playroom at the Neighbourhood Early Learning Centre in Yarra Glen.
The centre, in Steels Creek Road, was previously part of the collapsed ABC Learning and one of 14 centres advised in mid-December that would close. The 31 December closing date was extended, but on Monday (19 January) the centre closed its doors.
Ms Duncan said she found it hard to believe that the centre wasn't part of ABC. Frank Zullo, the man who took over ownership from ABC, is a former brother-in-law of ABC owner Eddy Groves, but for Ms Duncan, the recent marriage of NELC's former chief executive to Mr Groves is a connection she says nobody saw coming.
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Yarra Glen parent Amber Lavery said she held out until the last minute, also expecting a reprieve.
"I kept thinking something would happen to keep it open, but nothing did," she told The Mail.
She said the handling of the closure by NELC had caused much stress for staff and parents.
"The way it was handled, not to find out until just before Christmas, then finding out it was ABC, but not ABC enough to qualify for the government funding was just terrible," she said.
Both Ms Duncan and Ms Lavery said that although centre staff and parents were led to believe there was no connection with ABC, there were some confusing signs.
"Whenever I spoke to Centrelink, the provider number for NELC was still entered as ABC Yarra Glen," Ms Lavery said.
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- reprinted from Upper Yarra Mail